Auqib Javeed
SRINAGAR – The family members of a Kashmiri couple arrested in Indian capital over alleged ISIS links, on Monday rubbished the claims of Delhi Police saying that the couple was being made “scapegoat” because of their identity.
Jahanjeb Sami and his wife Hina Bashir Beg were rounded by the sleuths of special cell of Delhi Police on Sunday from their rented accommodation in Jamia Nagar locality of southeast Delhi. The couple, according to PTI were arrested on charges of links with Khorasan module of the IS and fuelling anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests.
A resident of Shivpora, Sami was working as project manager with a UK based IT company. He got married to Hina in October last and moved to Delhi for work as the Valley was reeling under communication clampdown.
At their home in Shivpora, a stone’s throw away from the largest army cantonment in Valley, the family of couple is in a state of shock. Relatives and neighbours come in flocks to console the family shattered by the news of the arrest.
“My brother has no links with any organisation. You can check his profile with the Jammu and Kashmir Police,”
Kashmir Observer quoted Sami’s sister Sehrish.
She says her brother was career oriented and he had no interest in whatever was happening in Kashmir.
Sami is survived by his parents and a sister. His father is a businessman and mother a retired teacher. Sehrish is a Law student.
Sehrish alleged that the Delhi Police detained her brother and his wife and linked them to ISIS because they were Muslims and Kashmiris. She said her brother and sister-in-law were being made ‘scapegoat’.
“Hina didn’t want to leave her husband alone when Sami was being whisked away. She argued with cops after which she too was taken to the police station,” Says Sehrish.
She added that at the police station Hina was told that she too may be involved with the ISIS and thus detained.
According to the Special Cell, the couple have been allegedly promoting the Islamic State’s ideology, and were inciting Muslims to take up the violent struggle against the state. The Special Cell had also claimed that the couple was also involved in instigating protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The police had seized four mobile phones, one laptop, one external hard disc and claimed recovery of incriminating material from their house.
No History Of Militancy, Says Police
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Monday said that the man arrested in Delhi for allegedly having links with the ISIS outfit has no past history of militancy.
Jahanzeb Sami and his wife Hina Bashir Beg were arrested by the special cell of Delhi police on Sunday on charges of having links with ISIS outfit and fuelling anti-CAA protests, a charge strongly denied by the family.
Kashmir Observer quoted an official from the Ram Munshi Bagh police station as saying that the detained man doesn’t have any history of militancy or crime in the Police station.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar Dr Haseeb Mughal had said
that the police was verifying the credentials of the arrested man.
The Delhi police haven’t asked as anything regarding the person but we are verifying at our level,” Haseeb added reported Kashmir Observer.