‘Ulema Special’ train heading to New Delhi

Among the travellers will be relatives of Atif Amin and Chhota Sajid,who were killed in the Batla House encounter in September last year. Also present will be family members and supporters of several alleged Indian Mujahideen activists from Azamgarh who have been arrested for their suspected involvement in cases including the Jaipur,Delhi and Ahmedabad blasts in 2008.

More than 10 Azamgarh youth are behind bars and about 10 others are wanted — the Delhi Police has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on eight of them.

Maulana Aamir Rashadi,the head of Azamgarh-based madrasa Jamaat-ur-Rashadi and convener of the Ulema Council,has organised the trip and the demonstration.”Our agenda is to raise our voice in Delhi against the police of different states that are framing Azamgarh youth in fake cases. The members of affected families in Azamgarh are joining us in the agitation,” he said.

Rashadi is a cleric who came into the limelight when he formed the Ulema Council in November last year and organised protests in Azamgarh against the harassment of Muslims youth by the police. Incidentally,Rashadi’s son Talha Amir was arrested by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Nagpur Railway Station on December 21 and an illegal forearm and ammunition were found in his possession. The ATS had told a Nagpur court that they suspected Talha of being one of the IM members who escaped from Batla House during the encounter. However,they failed to gather solid evidence against him and he got bail on January 6.

However,Tahir Madani,co-founder of the Ulema Council and one of the organisers said that the trip had been planned long before Talha’s arrest and was scheduled to take place on January 29 as “nobody would have allowed a protest in Delhi before Republic Day”.

He added that money for hiring the train came from “hundreds of villages in Azamgarh district”. Madani said “people had donated according to their financial capacity” and had decided to name the train ‘Ulema Special’.

Daya Nand Jha,Divisional Railway Manager of North-Eastern Railway in Varanasi confirmed that the group was allowed to book the train after applying to the Railway board in Delhi about a month ago. “In addition to paying Rs 11 lakh for booking the train,they also deposited a security amount of Rs 3 lakh with the Azamgarh station authorities,” said Jha.

Meanwhile,the Inspector General of Police (Varanasi zone) Gurdarshan Singh said that the UP police had informed the Delhi police about the protest. “The police here are also making arrangements to maintain law and order while the train moves to Delhi,” he said.

Joint Commissioner,Delhi Special Cell,P N Aggarwal said,“There is no problem if the protest is observed peacefully. We are keeping a close watch.”