Muslim body slaps Rs. 10-cr defamation suit on city police

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Muslim-body-slaps-Rs-10-cr-defamation-suit-on-city-police/articleshow/23010700.cms

By Mustafa shaikh, Mumbai Mirror | Sep 25, 2013, 12.11 AM IST

The Jamat-e-Islami Hind, a well-known organisation that runs more than 500 educational institutions across the country, has filed a defamation suit against the Mumbai police for allegedly linking one of its branches with terror-related activities.

The Muslim body has demanded Rs 10 crore as compensation from the city police for issuing a departmental communication stating that members of its women's wing, Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO), "were indoctrinating college girls and imparting training in jihad".

The internal circular had been leaked to the media in March.

Taufique Aslam Khan, president of JIH's Maharashtra wing, said they waited for nearly five months before taking any step as the cops had assured them that an inquiry would be launched and strict action would be taken against the person behind the leak.

"Despite assurance, we did not receive any reply from the Mumbai police. We sent them a legal notice in July. When that too did not result in any response, we decided to move the Bombay High Court," said Khan.

GIO members say theirs is one of India's largest Islamic organisations and runs 40 high schools and three junior colleges in Maharashtra. They allege the Mumbai police memo has severely dented their reputation. "Girls have stopped participating in our programmes," said Mohammad Aslam Ghazi, spokesperson of JIH's state wing.

The circular, issued by the Special Branch of Mumbai police in the third week of March, read: "The group GIO is an offshoot of the 65-year-old Jamat-e-Islami Organisation and is currently active in Kerala. The purported aim of this organisation is to make more and more Muslim women aware of their religion and the holy Quran. But the real objective of this organisation is to brainwash college and school girls and train them for jihad."

Ghazi said a delegation from GIO had met the cops in April. While they accepted that there was nothing incriminatory against Jamat's women's wing, they said they had acted based on some intelligence inputs, he said.

"Therefore, it is necessary for Mumbai police to compensate for the damages done to our peaceful organisation. The cops should have tried to keep a track on the activities of the organisation before attaching a terror tag to it," added Ghazi.

Mumbai police spokesman Satyanarayan Choudhary said, "The circular was meant to be only for the department and not for the public. As regards any inquiry into the incident, I do not have any information on it at the moment."

JIH official said they are also seeking legal opinions to take action against newspapers that had reproduced the circular.

 

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind sues state for Rs 10 cr

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jamaateislami-hind-sues-state-for-rs-10-cr/1173835/

Mumbai, Wed Sep 25 2013, 01:48 hrs

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has slapped a Rs 10-crore defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against the state government, the state police and even the Union government.

The suit comes in the backdrop of a circular issued by the state police in April, asking its officers to keep a special watch on JIH's sister organisation, the Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) since it was allegedly radicalising Muslim youths.

"We have filed a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against the state. The organisation has been working since 1941. Our work is not such that it would create a rift in society. That circular has done immense damage to our reputation. People are unwilling to allow their daughters to join GIO now," JIH spokesperson Aslam Ghazi said.

The suit names nine entities, including the Union of India and the Maharashtra government. It has also made the state DGP, Mumbai police commissioner, additional commissioner of police Naval Bajaj and DCP Sanjay Shintre a party.

Asked why it took so long to file a suit, Ghazi said it was following procedure. "We had sent the state police a notice seeking their explanation, but they ignored it, hence a defamation suit," Ghazi said.

After the organisation protested, the police had said it found nothing adverse against it and that the circular was meant for internal circulation. Police claimed it was probing how the circular was leaked, but stopped short of apologising to the organisation.

The Jammat-e-Islami was formed by noted but controversial theologian Abul Ala Maududi who was born in Aurangabad but played a defining role in the history of Pakistan. An organisation with a strong cadre base, its state unit presently operates from a dingy 700-sq ft three-room office in Madanpura. The Girls Islamic Organisation, under the police scanner, operates from this office. The GIO has over 450 full-time members, all below the age of 25. It has a 2,500-strong cadre who are called associate members.

 

10cr suit filed against cops for defamation

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2013/09/25&PageLabel=4&EntityId=Ar00406&ViewMode=HTML

Mumbai: The Jamat-e-Islami Hind on Tuesday filed a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against the city police for issuing a circular in March this year about its sister wing, Girls Islamic Organization (GIO).
    The special branch (SB) police had issued a fortnightly report to city cops which stated that GIO was trying to “motivate girls towards Islam and asking them to practise the religion”. The report had indicated that the GIO was preparing Muslim girls for jihad.
    TOI, in its March 31 edition, had carried a story titled, ‘Women’s group under the scanner of Mumbai police’. This sparked off protests and people associated with GIO met SB additional police commissioner, Nawal Bajaj, who assured them of a probe. “We waited for the probe report and even sent a letter asking about it but got no reply. We had no option but to file a defamation suit against the Mumbai Police,” said Taufique Aslam Khan, president of Jamat. Bajaj could not be contacted.