Moulana Islahi, father of Mothasim Billa, who was accused of trying to help two Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) activists, on Friday refuted the charge that his son was associated with persons involved in terror plots.
Speaking to mediapersons at his house in Saidabad, Mr. Islahi said that police had been implicating his family in false cases for the past 10 years. Recalling the incident of his son, Mujahid, being shot dead by Gujarat police at the DGP office in Lakdikapul in 2004, he charged that the police had been harassing his family since then. “Judgement in that case would be delivered in a few days. Maybe the police are planning to implicate us again in wrong cases, realising that we would be acquitted of all terror charges made earlier,” he said. Referring to a police official’s statement on two SIMI activists of Maharashtra, Shah Mudassir and Shoeb Ahmed Khan, arrested two days ago, Mr. Islahi said he never wrote any book called ‘Jihad Kya Hai’.
“The statement said they brought a cover page for the book I wrote. Let the police show me the book,” he demanded. He maintained that Mothasim Billa was pursuing M.Tech. programme in Hyderabad. He denied the charge that his son tried to secure passports for the two SIMI activists, clarifying that his son doesn’t have one.
Meanwhile, Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy said the investigators were collecting evidence to ascertain involvement of Mothasim Billa in the case. “We will take the two SIMI activists into police custody from judicial custody for gathering further evidence. Whatever charges made were based on evidence only,” he said replying to a question. “I have no comment,” he said when asked about Islhai denying the charge.
