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Vijay Singh in Mumbai
Samajwadi Party on Wednesday criticised the Mumbai police and the Maharashtra government for its handling of the case against suspected Al Qaeda terrorist Mohammed Afroz.
The president of the Mumbai unit of the party, Abu Asim Azmi, told rediff.com the way Afroz case has been handled showed that the 'minority community is treated badly by police officials and politicians alike'.
"The police spent lakhs to collect evidence against Afroz. They even traveled to the US, Britain and Australia for that purpose. If they did have 'solid evidence', how did Afroz get bail?" Azmi asked.
He said his party had opposed the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance from the beginning 'as we knew it would be used against the minority community'.
Afroz was released on bail on April 5 after the Mumbai police failed to file a chargesheet against the alleged Al Qaeda terrorist within the stipulated time of 90 days.
Afroz was intially booked under the controversial POTO, but the ordinance charges were dropped against him on March 26, when the joint sitting of Parliament passed the Prevention of Terrorism Bill.
Meanwhile, the Mumbai Aman Committee has taken responsibility to provide Afroz accommodation near the crime branch office, where he is to report every day.
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