Mumbai-based Muslim activist faces continued police harassment despite acquittal
Mumbai: Mumbai-based Muslim prison rights activist Abdul Wahid Shaikh continues to endure police harassment, despite being acquitted of all charges related to a high-profile 2006 case.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a letter to the Police Commissioner, Abdul Wahid Shaikh details how recent police visits to his home have instilled fear in his neighborhood. During one such visit, while Shaikh was at work, police officers questioned his wife about his activities, employment, and personal contact information. haikh describes these inquiries as an invasion of privacy and an intimidation tactic aimed at silencing him.
Having spent nearly nine years wrongfully imprisoned in connection with the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts, Shaikh was acquitted in 2015 and has since become a passionate advocate for prisoners’ rights. He has also authored a book recounting his harrowing experiences.
In his letter, Shaikh pleads for intervention, urging the Police Commissioner to halt his unwarranted harassment. “I request that the police be directed not to further harass me in the name of official duty,” he stated.
This is not the first time Shaikh has faced such treatment. Last year, India’s dreaded probe agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), raided his home during a crackdown.
Shaikh’s situation highlights a disturbing pattern of discrimination against Muslim activists in Moi’s India, raising important questions about police accountability and the treatment of minority communities.
