A call to repeal draconian laws

May 05, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 07:40 am IST - Kozhikode:

Yahya Khan with his family at his residence at Mukkom, near Kozhikode.

Yahya Khan with his family at his residence at Mukkom, near Kozhikode.

Yahya Khan aka Kammukutty who reached home at Mukkom in the district after he was released from Dharwad Central Jail, Karnataka, feels that draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act should be repealed.

“I spent seven years and three months in prison. I am a victim of a misused law. Even the trial commenced only after three years,” he said. Yahya was one of the 17 persons acquitted by Additional Sessions and District Court judge Gopal Krishna Kolli last week as the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them.

The case

The Bengaluru police had suspected them to be members of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and charged them with involvement in terror activities across Karnataka and waging war against the country.

While four persons, including brothers P.A. Shadhuli and Sabit Shibli (Erattupetta) and Ansar Nadwi (Aluva) belonged to Kerala, others were from Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

An electronics and communication graduate from the National Institute of Technology- Calicut (NIT-C), Yahya Khan, had worked at two IT firms in Bengaluru before doing freelance work.

He was picked up by the Bengaluru police from his residence on February 18, 2008, and his arrest was recorded only on February 22.

“I don’t know why I was framed. They said I had taken part in a conspiracy at Hubli. Perhaps they were acting according to a script. First they made a case of terror and then fixed all of us,” he said on Monday.

The 40-year-old said he had attended meetings of SIMI while doing pre-degree at Mohammed Abdurahiman Memorial Orphanage College, Manassery. But that was before the outfit was proscribed.

“Initially, the police tortured me for two days. After that, I was in judicial custody. But I had to endure the sufferings all these years for no reason. Now the real facts are out,” he said. Yahya said he had to rebuild his career from scratch. “I am happy to be home with family, relatives, and friends,” he said. He is married to Fareeda and has four children with her.

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