Strongly defending the State Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday denied allegations made by Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar accusing the ATS of “terrorising” Muslim youths by “illegally detaining” them on suspicions of being associated with the banned Islamic State.
Mr Fadnavis said, “It appears that Mr. Pawar was not correctly briefed about this, and he had made a statement that the ATS is intentionally targeting a minority community. I will ensure that the correct factual information is given to Mr. Pawar soon.”
Mr. Fadnavis said four youths from Parbhani were arrested by the ATS after the discovery of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in their possession. “The entire operation was done transparently by the ATS, and all evidence pertaining to the seizure are with the ATS. A total of 30 youths were questioned in that case. Nobody was detained for two or three days as alleged. They were released after no link was found. Excluding the Parbhani case, only 12 youths have been summoned by the ATS for questioning in other cases in the entire State and they were subsequently released.”
“We believe that linking any terrorist actions with any religion is completely wrong, but I also want to say that the way the ISIS danger is spreading, the Maharashtra ATS has done a commendable job. Our government has taken a comprehensive decision to bring the minority community into the mainstream, and we are making the effort to keep Maharashtra youths away from the clutches of ISIS recruiters,” he said.
Mr. Fadnavis said the government had received excellent support from Muslim spiritual and community leaders in this effort. “In several cases, parents have come forward and informed the ATS about the changes in the behaviour of their children. The ATS has also taken efforts to bring back youths gone abroad to join ISIS,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Pawar had claimed at a press conference that the ATS had picked up and illegally detained Muslim youths in several instances, especially in Marathawada. “A 28-member delegation representing various Muslim organisations had met me recently and complained that the ATS is terrorising Muslim youths in the name of ISIS and other banned organisations. This delegation strongly condemned ISIS and said the youths of their community would never support their activities,” Mr. Pawar told reporters.
Mr Pawar also criticised the proposed internal security law. “The government has changed and so the system of making law, it seems. The thumb rule has been that the CM and his Council of Ministers decide to make a particular law and ask his Secretary to frame it. Here it is the reverse,” he said, taking a dig at Additional Chief Secretary KP Bakshi’s claim that the proposed draft was not discussed with the Mr. Fadnavis, the home minister.
