Author: Times News Network
Publication: The Times of India
Date: March 29, 2003
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/html/uncomp/articleshow?msid=41702562
A Mumbai police team which went
to a Thane village on Thursday to arrest a suspect in the Ghatkopar blast
case was forced to retreat when angry villagers surrounded their vehicle.
A Mumbai crime branch team had
gone to Padgha-Borivli village near Bhiwandi to arrest Sakib Abdul Hamid
Nachen, an alleged activist of the banned Students Islamic Movement of
India (Simi). When they arrested Nachen from his house and were taking
him towards the jeep a mob of 300 people, including women, surrounded the
jeep and began shouting anti- police slogans. Taken aback, the police were
forced to leave without Nachen. Confirming the incident, Joint commissioner
Satyapal Singh, who heads the Mumbai crime branch, said, “We had just gone
there to question Nachen.’’
Thane police officials say this
predominantly Muslim village has several supporters of Simi. Padgha-Borivli
village was the hub of Simi activities before the state government imposed
a ban on the organisation in 2001. A Thane (rural) police officer criticised
the Mumbai police for not taking them into confidence before trying to
arrest Nachen. “The Mumbai police should have sought our assistance since
they are not aware of the geographical and social conditions of the district,’’
he said.
Nachen was not to be traced on
Friday. The 45-year-old has a long-standing connection with Simi and spent
10 years in Sabarmati jail for conspiring with Pakistan-sponsored terrorists
in India. Last week, a mob ‘gheraoed’ a police station at Kalyan after
a Mumbai police team arrested an alleged Simi activist, Saifudding Karde.
The police later released Karde, an active social worker.
