Accused not a terrorist only for using word jihad: Court

NAGPUR: The Akola sessions court recently acquitted three men arrested on terror charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. Absolving them, special judge AS Jadhav pointed out that an “accused can’t be labelled as a terrorist just because he was using the word jihad”.

“As per the dictionary, ‘jihad’ literally means ‘struggle’. It’s an Arabic word which means striving or struggling. According to BBC, the third meaning of jihad is struggling to build a good society. Related words of jihad are expedition, administration, movement, strive crusade. Therefore, if merely accused used the word ‘jihad’, it would not be proper to brand him as terrorist,” the judge said, acquitting all three accused of charges under UAPA.

Abdul Malik Abdul Razaqque, Shoeb Khan and Salim Malik had been arrested outside a Mohamadiya mosque in Pusad town of Yavatmal district after Razaqque allegedly attacked cops on September 25, 2015. He was enraged over the beef ban imposed by the Maharashtra government and attacked police constables Amol Badukale, Yogesh Dongarwar and Sudarshan Aghav with a knife, injuring them outside the mosque on Bakri Eid. After he was arrested, the case was handed over to Mumbai-based Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).

The ATS claimed Razaqque had come into contact with Khan on Facebook and introduced him to Malik. Both Khan and Malik then instigated Razaqque to join ‘jihadi movement’ and also lured him to go to Afghanistan for training.

ATS pointed out that Razaqque was highly influenced by the speeches of Maulana Masood Azar, the founder of banned terrorist organization Jaish-e-Mohammad, which was behind the deadly attacks on the Parliament and the recent one at Pulwama, where 40 CRPF personnel were martyred. He even used to listen to inflammatory speeches of preacher Zakir Naik and Al Qaida founder Osama bin Laden. He also ran a WhatsApp group named ‘Friends Forever’, where inflammatory material was circulated.

When Razaqque’s Facebook and Twitter accounts were checked, it was found that he was following jihadi groups. After arrest of all three, incriminating material such as CDs and Urdu material was seized. They were charged under various sections of IPC, Arms Act, and Bombay Police Act, besides UAPA. The charge sheet was filed with JMFC court in Nagpur, which remanded the case to Akola court.

“It appears that Malik has exhibited his anger through violence against government and some Hindu organizations for ban on cow slaughtering. No doubt, he used the word ‘jihad’. But it was adventurous to jump to the conclusion that only for using word ‘jihad’ he should be branded as terrorist,” the judge said.

The court, however, maintained Malik’s conviction under all IPC sections and sentenced him to three years behind bars. Since he was been in jail from September 25, 2015, he was released as he had already served his full term. The court asked Khan and Malik to furnish a surety of Rs15,000 each while acquitting them of all the charges.

Speaking to TOI, Malik’s father said they were happy as justice was finally done. “I want to thank SP MLA Abu Azmi along with Afzal Farooki, Mayatai Chaure, Pervez Siddiqui from Nagpur for helping us in these tough times, where we lost everything. I am happy that my son had rejoined the Mohamadiya Masjid as a cleric. His son was just one-and-a-half-years-old when he was forcibly taken by the police.”

He added that after his son’s arrest, they lost everything and suffered immense social stigma. “I suffered losses in my business. We were treated like outsiders in our hometown. Now, it’s up to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to inquire into the matter and punish the guilty cops for falsely implicating my son and devastating our peaceful lives.”