Tamil Muslim Group
Opposes Foreign TJ member’s detention in Special Camp
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Chennai May 10, 2020: Tamil Nadu government has constructed a
foreigner’s detention center at the Borstal school in the Puzhal prison complex
in the northeast Chennai.
This detention center is one of its kinds whe
The foreign TJ members were arrested from various parts of
Tamil Nadu for violating visa norms. They will be shifted to the special camp at Borstal
school, once they get regular bail from the competent court.
Among the 125 foreign nationals there are 12 are women preachers.
There are 13 male members from Bangladesh, 13 from Myanmar, 14 from Thailand,
more than 10 from Malaysia, 46 from Indonesia among them 6 are women, 8 from
Ethiopia among them 4 are women and 9 from France, besides other countries.
Many among those foreign TJ members arrested are no way
connected to the Tablighi Jamaat event that took place in New Delhi, and were
in Tamil Nadu much before the TJ- Corona linkage was found.
The Federation of Muslim Organizations and Parties condemned
the arrest of the Tablighi Jamaat preachers from the foreign countries. P A Kajamoinudeen Bakavi, President of the federation which comprises
of 24 organizations and political parties demanded the immediate release of the
preachers and their deportation to respective countries.
The federation expressed concern over the way the Tamil Nadu
government is treating these foreign nationals. “These foreign preachers had traveled to
Tamil Nadu with valid travel documents, but they are treated like terrorists,”
Bakavi said in a statement.
"I have asked the state government to treat the
preachers respectfully and take necessary measures to send them to their
respective countries,” Bakavi said.
M. H. Jawahirullah President of 'Manithaneya Makkal Katchi,' a
Muslim political party, questioned the rationale of creation of the dentation center
for the foreigners TJ members in the state.
“It is perhaps first time in the history that a detention
camp is established for foreigners visiting another country,” he said.
“The foreigner’s belonging to the Tablighi Jamaat had come to
the state on a pilgrimage but were arrested on false charges at the behest of
the Central government,” which is biased towards Muslims as everyone knows, he
said.
“Those arrested are kept in the Sidapet sub-jail and are
living in in human conditions. This is because this jail was constructed during
the British rule and its floors are damaged. The foreigners are made to sleep
on the floor which has rough surface,” he said.
The MMK leader said, “It is not the first time anyone has violated
the visa rules but it is the first time any foreigner is arrested for breaking
this rule. Now they have to go through the motion of bail and face the trial
courts before they are send back. Till then they have to be kept in the special
camp. This is ludicrous,” he said.
M. H. Jawahirullah who is busy in getting bails for the
foreign TJ members said; So far, only six of them have got bail and sent to Borstal
school special camp, the bail plea of the rest is being delayed for some reason
or other. This shows the anti-Muslim attitude of the Tamil Nadu government, the
MMK leader said.
M. H. Jawahirullah begged for global attention for they way
foreigners are treated in Tamil Nadu. “I wondered if the Tamil Nadu government
would have done the same to the foreign members of other religions traveling to
the state for preaching purposes,’ he said.
The 'Manithaneya Makkal Katchi, President demanded immediate
release of all the foreign TJ members and asked the state government to take
necessary measures to send them as quickly as possible. He also demanded the
immediate closer of the special camp which is a gross human rights violation that
too of the foreigners visiting the largest democracy in the world.
These foreigner TJ members had come to India on tourist visas.
They visited various parts of Tamil Nadu for preaching purposes. Some of them
had come to the state earlier to the Corona- Markaz linkage was discovered and
some had come after attending the TJ conference in New Delhi. The State police arrested
all them apparently at the behest of the Ministry of Home Affairs New Delhi.
The Prison Department had taken steps to ensure that they are
kept under close observation by medical teams. They will remain in detention
till their trail gets over and ordered for deportation.
The Director-General of Police, prisons, Sunil Kumar Singh
said these foreign TJ members will have no access to the other three prisons in
the Puzhal prison complex.
“There is no
possibility of old prisoners, including convicts, getting affected by the
Covid-19 because there is absolutely no chance of their coming into contact
with newcomers, because the Borstal school is totally a separate entity in the
Puzhal prison complex,” he added.
Among those who are in house arrest in Sidapet’ sub-jail only
6 Thai nationals have obtained bail and are shifted to the Borstal school in
the Puzhal jail.
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Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be
contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@mail.com
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