GUWAHATI – Arrest of one of the most wanted suspected culprits involved in the October 2 Burdwan bomb blast from the state’ Nalbari district has added a twist in the already controversial story.

Among others, the most controversial statement came from the suspected accused Sahanur Alom, when he disclosed his wife Suzena, also alleged to be carrying out terror activities, and his father-in-law Julmat Ali were staying at the farmhouse of a senior Assam BJP leader Bijon Mahajan located in city’s Hatigaon area.

Mahajan has refuted the claims and said giving legal advice and non-disclosing it is not an offence. Political parties, students’ bodies and activists from the state have reacted sharply on the role of BJP and sought a proper investigation.

Sahanur Alom, alleged to be a key module for Jamat-ul Mujahideen Bangaldesh (JMB), was remanded to police custody for 14 days following his arrest from Larkuchi village in Nalbari district earlier this week. Currently, teams of National Investigation Agency (NIA) from Delhi and Kolkata are interrogating Sahanur, who has claimed he surrendered before the police and was not arrested.

The Times of India (TOI) has reported that Sahanur had confessed of contacting Julmot Ali while being on the run. “Julmot was taking care of Mahajan’s farmhouse in the Anupam Nagar area of Hatigaon,” the TOI report said. It also quoted Ali as saying: “I sought legal advice from Mahajan regarding the case. I wanted Sahanur to surrender.”

The All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) has expressed concern over Mahajan’s alleged offering of advice to the blast accused Sahanur and his aides.

“Of late, the alleged Jihadi activity and involvement of madrassas are being discussed at various levels. We have cleared our stand that whoever is found guilty should be punished. No one is above the law. If the involvement of the BJP leader with Sahanur and Suzens is true, it should be brought to light. The guilty should be meted out proper punishment,” said AIUDF general secretary Aminul Islam.

He also asked the state BJP leaders to clear their stand on the issue. Islam reminded when several youths were arrested after the Malegaon and Ajmer bomb blasts it was later found that ‘Abhinav Bharat’, a lesser known outfit, was involved in these blasts. This outfit was found to be having links with RSS and VHP, he added.

Lafiqul Islam Ahmed, general secretary of All BTC Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU), too expressed shock at the news of Sahanur and his wife taking shelter at a top BJP leader’s house. “The BJP leader should be brought under NIA investigation and proper action should be taken against him. We have been suspecting the role of BJP since they came into power. The party is trying to create a communal environment which can be very deadly in the coming days,” Ahmed said.

ABMSU also said that some of the BJP leaders were trying to see all the madrassas with a suspicious eye. “If found guilty, the people running such madrassas should be punished. But without any evidence no one can allege that the educational institutes are involved in such anti-national activities. But now, the irony is that the BJP leader himself is found to be giving shelter to an accused terrorist,” he added.

Mahajan on his part has said, “Giving legal advice to a client and non-disclosure of the content of the advice cannot be an offence because disclosure is prohibited under Section 126 of the Evidence Act, 1872.”

The BJP leader further said he knew Julmot Ali for a long time and Ali was looking after his family’s farmhouse. “But, for that case how would I know whom Ali had invited to his place. I know Ali to be an honest man. He is still there. How can Ali be held responsible for someone else’s guilt (if Sahanur and Suzena are proved to be guilty by the court),” he said.

Nilim Dutta, executive director of the Strategic Research and Analysis Organization, a think tank from the region, asked why BJP, RSS, VHP, AASU and all the organizations are not protesting outside Mahajan’s house, burning his effigy or demanding his arrest in an article he wrote. — twocircles.net