Family cries foul, says not guilty

NEW DELHI: A hush prevailed in Karbala near Jorbagh on Wednesday — the area that had become a flashpoint about a month ago over the opening of a dargah gate.
This time again, the area has attracted attention for the wrong reasons. And it’s a terror charge that 50-year-old journalist Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi is facing.
Cops are keeping watch over Kazmi’s house, which has been raided several times over the last 24 hours.In fact, they have claimed to have leads on one of the “biggest international terror plots” hatched in the city — a charge contested by Kazmi’s family.
They have come out to the street to allege victimization and question the nature and timing of the arrest.
“My husband has been at the fore of many social issues. The police have failed to arrest the real culprits and are now trying to frame him in this case. He is innocent,” said Jahanara.
She had been addressing mediapersons, who had gathered outside Kazmi’s home in B K Dutt Colony. “He was picked up around 1.30pm when he was returning home from the nearby Islamic Centre; but cops showed his arrest only around 8.30pm,” Jahanara claimed.
Her son Shauzab reiterated her statement a couple of hours later outside the Tis Hazari court where his father was produced and sent to 20 days’ police remand.
“We will do everything to clear his name off this conspiracy,” added Shauzab, who holds an MBA degree.
Some residents of the society said Kazmi wasn’t that sociable and kept his interactions to a bare minimum. “He rarely interacted with any of us in his 11-year stay here.
But he used travel a lot to foreign countries, especially Iran. He had even covered the eight-year war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s from there.
“He had four cars, but he seemed to have a liking for his Alto, which he used the most to conduct his daily activities. He was a regular at the nearby Islamic Centre where he was seen as an important co-ordinator,” said a neighbour on the condition of anonymity.
A member of the local residents’ welfare association talked about Kazmi’s involvement in the Karbala standoff.
“He was seen addressing rallies and favoured the taking over of the grounds,” he claimed.
But Kazmi’s family has denied the terror slur and made a counter claim that he is being victimized by the police to “score brownie points”.