VASCO
Seven prominent Muslim leaders in Vasco were on Wednesday evening detained under Section 151 CrPC and were later produced before Mormugao Dy Collector Ravi Shekar Nippanikar before being released on a personal bond.
The Muslim leaders arrived along with their advocate to the Dy Collector’s chamber and later claimed they had been detained over suspicion of having links with the now banned PFI organisation or their associated groups.
The leaders insisted they had no links with the PFI nor did they fund any activity or participate in the PFI events, adding that none of them had ever worked against the interest of the nation.
The leaders said they had been told that there should be no morcha or a protest rally over the PFI ban.
The lawyer for the Muslim leaders said his clients were innocent.
"The case was that these people are being suspected of creating unrest in the society but however there is no link of any of these leaders with any organisation. These leaders are totally innocent and we are not sure if the police is under any pressure,” said the lawyer.
“Our leaders are being targeted based on suspicion that they could have links with the PFI. All the leaders are respected citizens of Vasco but have been picked up from their houses, which is wrong on the part of the police.”
Mormugao Dy Collector Ravi Shekar Nippanikar later clarified that the leaders were produced before him on apprehensions.
"There is nothing adversely reported against them and they have been produced based on only apprehensions and as a precaution, we have released them on a personal bond. Accordingly, I will conduct an enquiry or give a direction to the police after conducting an enquiry if something is suspicious about them,” said Nippanikar.
"A Gazette has been published by the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the ban on PFI activities and in that connection, the police are doing all these enquiries. I have not found any linkage of these leaders with the PFI as of now," he added.
