Federation slams arrests of four Muslim youths in Coimbatore by NIA

COIMBATORE: The Federation of Coimbatore District All Jamaaths and Islamic Organisations has condemned the arrests of four Muslim youths by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) after framing them in an ISIS radicalisation and recruitment case.

Federation coordinator Sultan Amir told reporters on Tuesday that the NIA was pressurising the Muslim youths to become approvers to strengthen their “fake cases.” When the youths refused, the NIA arrested them and sent them to jail, he said.

“The NIA is functioning with the interest of the BJP, and the recent arrests of the Muslim youths by the NIA showed that the agency attempted to stamp the Muslim community as hubs of terrorism and targeted the Arabic colleges’ operations in the state,” he said.

The federation alleged that the arrests made on June 19 were politically motivated and based on false charges. The four youths -- Ahmed Ali, Jawahar Sadiq, Raja Abdullah alias ‘Mac’ Raja and Sheik Dawood -- were accused by the NIA of being radicalised by Jameel Basha, founder of Madras Arabic College, and of promoting extremist ideologies under the guise of Arabic instruction.

The federation accused the NIA of aiming to defame the Arabic colleges in the state. The agency was misusing its power to intimidate the Muslim community, he said.

The arrested youths’ families, including Ahamed Ali’s wife Asikka Parvin, Jaffar Sadiq’s wife Balkis, and Mohammed Thalka’s wife Amsath Beevi, along with a few others met reporters. They stated that the NIA arrested innocent Muslim youths in connection with the case.

“The NIA had been questioning them for more than two years and pestered them to become approvers of the case. When the Muslim youths refused to become approvers, the NIA immediately arrested them and portrayed them as working against the nation,” they said.

The Tamil Nadu govt and secular political outfits should come forward to address the issue, said the federation.