127 Muslims get 'justice' after 20 years in Gujarat

A Surat court in Gujarat has acquitted a total of 127 people allegedly associated with the banned outfit Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI-CM) after nearly 20 years last Saturday. Five of the people arrested in this case have died.

The Gujarat police arrested these people from a hotel in Surat. The police had said in their complaint that these people were arrested for violating the then Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

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A local court in Surat, while hearing the case, acquitted the accused for lack of sufficient evidence to prove the charges against them. 

In 2001, a workshop related to education of minority community was organized in Surat city of Gujarat. People from different parts of India participated in it.

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But all the people were arrested a day before the workshop started.

According to a police complaint, in December 2001, the All India Minority Education Board located in Jamianagar, Delhi, organized a two-day seminar at Rajeshree Hall in Surat for allegedly providing constitutional guidance to the educational rights of minority communities.

127 people from 10 states of India participated in the seminar.

The seminar was scheduled to begin on 28 December and on the night of 27 December, police raided Surat's Rajeshree Hall and arrested 127 people. The police also said that they had seized literature related to 'SIMI' after their arrest.

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Police claimed that they had received information that a former member of the Student Islamic Movement of India (CMI) was to hold religious meetings in Surat on 27–30 December and SIMI activists from various states of the country were to attend the meeting.

In this investigation it was also said that the All India Minority Education Board has no office at that address in Delhi.

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