Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Nasir Mulla has a lot to be worried about. One of his sons is an accused in the Mulund train blast. Now, another, in trouble for photographing a court session on his cellphone, is accused of involvement in rioting during a hearing of his brother’s case.
Never mind that the police took eight months after the hearing scuffle to decide what charges it wanted to slap on 23-year-old Sharif.
Nasir has been making rounds of the POTA court for a year now to keep track of his son Atif Mulla’s trial in last year’s Mulund train blast. On Saturday, the Mumbai police arrested Sharif, informing Nasir that his other son was wanted in an eight-month-old rioting case.
As recent as July 7, the police had wanted him only for photographing the special court using his cellphone. Sharif and his friend Abdul Razzak Deokar were caught during the act and the court handed them over to the Crime Branch. After interrogation, Sharif was let off. Now, the police have a different story and say investigations are on. The case under which Sharif has now been arrested refers to an incident that took place in the Sessions Court premises in October 2003.
Sharif, along with a few relatives, had come to attend a hearing in the Mulund blast case. They got into a scuffle with the police when they tried to pass a packet to the accused. The police alleged that the accused tried to snatch a rifle from one of the constables and charged Sharif with rioting.
DCP Dhananjay Kamalakar says it was only when they were questioning him for taking photographs that they ‘‘realised’’ that Sharif was wanted by the Colaba police. An officer in the Colaba police station confirmed this.
Mubin Solkar, Sharif’s advocate, says the case is strange. ‘‘Initially all the charges were bailable, but the magistrate added a clause that is non-bailable.’’ Sharif has been remanded in police custody till July 16; his bail plea will come up for hearing on Wednesday.
