[Reader-list] My 75 days of horror at the hands of Mumbai ATS

[Javed]

My 75 days of horror at the hands of Mumbai ATS
(Oct 18, 2010)

My name is Ehtesham Qutubudin Siddiqui, age: 29 years, occupation:
Book Publisher. I was born in Uttar Pradesh in a poor family. In the
year 1996, I moved to Mumbai for further education. My residential
address in Mumbai is 202, Safiya Manzil, Naya Nagar, Mira Road (East),
Thane - 401107. I completed my XII standard through Maharashtra
College, Belasis Road, Mumbai Central. I took admission in Narayan
Nagu Patil Engineering College, in Pen. Raigad through Mumbai
University in Chemical Engineering course in 1998. I used to stay in a
hostel near the campus. However during my vacation and holidays, I
used to visit Mira Road which is my residential permanent address. On
27 September, 2001 while I was travelling from Pen to visit my house,
on the way, I thought of visiting a library situated at Feetwala
Compound, Kurla (West) Mumbai, for reading some books. That evening
around 08:00 pm, some policemen came in the library and took me along
with seven other people to Kurla Police Station. That did not tell me
the reason for detention, and arrested me in the offence of u/s 10&13
of unlawful activities (prevention) Act 1967. They informed me that
students Islamic Movement of India has been declared as a banned
organisation. They informed me about the offence only after the arrest
i.e. when they produced me before Magistrate of Kurla Court. The truth
is that I was never associated with any organisation which is
mentioned above. The Hon'ble magistrate of Kurla court had released me
on bail of Rs. 3000/- cash. However the Kurla police, instead of
releasing me took me to the police station and put me inside the lock
up and said that I have been arrested in another case of the same
offence. Kurla police has framed me in false cases which I had nothing
to do with, and they have spoilt my reputation in society. In regard
to second false case, the police took 15 day custody. After 15 days, I
was granted bail of Rs. 8000/- security. As it was conditional bail. I
could not continue my studies which resulted in the end of engineering
course. After that, I learned Desktop Publishing on my Personal
Computer and started a DTP business from my house in Mira Road know as
"Graphic Point".

In March 2004, I started a publishing company known as "Shahadah
Publishing House" publishing Islamic literature and books on general
knowledge. In July 2003, I had taken admission in B Sc to complete my
graduation through Indira Gandhi National Open University. But due to
my arresting and false implication in 11th July 2006, Mumbai serial
train blast case my whole career has gone for a toss. Due to old
record in Kurla police station, it had become a regular routine of
detaining me. Every time or whenever any incident took place in
Mumbai, I was called by police for a formal interrogation. Beside
those two false cases implemented by Kurla police. I do not have any
other criminal record as I was living a normal life in Mumbai. On 11
July, 2006, serial bomb blast took place on Western Railway during
peak hours, that time I was at home. When I learned about the blast at
Mira Road, I went to the blast site to help the victims. I know very
well that police will come to me for formal enquiry like the regular
police routine, that had been a trend since 2001. Hence senior police
Inspector namely Murade of Mira Road police station came to my house
on 13 July, 2006 in evening time and asked me to come to the police
station on the next day. On 14 July, 2006 at 11:00 am, I went to Mira
Road police station to meet Sr. PI Murade. He questioned me about my
whereabouts and asked me for my phone number, which I gave him
(28115084) and left the police station. He also told me that if
required for further investigation I will be called.

On 24 July, 2006, in the morning around 11:00 am, police sub-Inspector
Sunil Mane of Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) unit-II, visited my house and
asked me to come at Nagpada ATS office, the same before 03:00 pm. That
day I went to Nagpada ATS office at around 02:00 pm. I met PSI Sunil
Mane and he told me that senior official will me to interrogate me so
they will take Bhoiwada ATS office. Upon reaching Bhoiwada ATS office,
PSI Sunil Mane took me to the second floor in lock up, there he called
PI Vilas Joshi, PI Dinesh Ahir, PSI Shailesh Gaekwad and other beating
me with belts and sticks and continued beating me till evening. Later
they took me from Bhoiwada to Nagpada handcuffed. They did not allow
me to inform my parents or any of my relatives. When I was taken from
Nagpada to Bhoiwada, before taking me inside the lock up, they emptied
my pockets during my physical search. They took away my mobile, ATM
card, PAN card and Rs. 25.000/- cash, which I was carrying off, with
which I wanted to purchase a personal computer. PSI Sunil Mane only
made entry of ATM card, PAN card and mobile in panchnama. However they
distributed the Rs. 25000/- cash among themselves. On 29 July, 2006,
When PSI Sunil Mane repreparing panchnama, I noticed that he did not
mentioned the Rs. 25.000 cash in the recovery. Upon which I asked him
about the money. I was surprised by his reply: "bhool ja be tere
paise."!

Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) detained me illegally from 24 July, 2006 to
29 July, 2006, as I was not produced before any Magistrate till 29
July, 2006. During this period ATS officers continued beating me for
several hours everyday. ATS officers search my house in my absence, as
I was in their custody. They took all the books and literature which
was published recently and took into their custody. ATS officers taken
all valuable things from house, which I saw in ATS office and which
included computer, printer, drill machine, tape recorder, Rs. 10.000/-
cash, blankets etc. ATS officers chose two books namely "Jihadi Azkar"
and "Islam ki Rooh-Jihad fi Sabilillah", which described basic
fundamentals of Jihad in Islam, and contains verses of Qur'an and
saying of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and does not contain any
inflammatory material and is easily available in the market. On the
basis of these two books they arrested me on 29 July, 2006 and
produced me before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 2nd
Court, Mazgaon, Mumbai and took 15 days police custody u/s 10&13 of
unlawful activities (prevention) Act 1967. I became surprised when
charge sheet was filed and one book namely "jihad fi sabilillah-kiyon"
added in recovery which is not published by me. I wanted to tell many
things to magistrate about the torture and illegal detention but ATS
threatened me not to say anything to magistrate or else they were
torture me more severely using third degree torture methods, therefore
I could not tell any thing to the magistrate.

ATS officer took me to unit-II office and they started beating me,
they never told me any thing that why they had arrested me but kept
beating me. While torturing they used to say that "to musalman hai
isliye tere ko mar rahe hain" with every blow they used to abuse my
religion and said "tere ko yehan koi nahi bachayega" on 03 August,
2006 I was cruelly tortured by PSI Shailesh Gaekwad, PSI Sunil Mane
and PI Vilas Joshi and asked me to accept the said crime of bomb blast
in front of senior officials of ATS because of the torture I agreed to
do whatever the ATS officers told me to do. After which they tookme to
ATS head office, where ATS Chief KP Raghuvanshi and DCP Naval Bajaj
were seated in the office. There in front of these senior, I
complained about the torture that PSI Shailesh Gaekwad, PSI Sunil Mane
and PI Vilas Joshi had done, and I also told ATS chief KP Raghuvanshi,
that I am innocent and they are trying to involve me in the blast
case. But to my surprise KP Raghuvanshi slapped me and told the
officers that this torture was not enough and asked them to take me to
Bhoiwada and beat me red, blue and black. I completely lost faith in
the senior most officers as well as junior officers because this fraud
of framing innocent people was ordered by senior officers of ATS
including ATS chief. ... I Ehtesham Qutubuddin Siddiqui solemnly
affirm that whatever has been stated here above is true and correct as
per my knowledge and belief.

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