Jamaat-e-Islami Hind sues Maharashtra state for Rs 10 cr‏

The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has slapped a Rs 10-crore defamation suit in the Bombay High Court against the state government, the state police and even the Union government. The suit comes in the backdrop of a circular issued by the state police in April, asking its officers to keep a special watch on JIH’s sisterorganisation, the Girls Islamic Organisation (GIO) since it was allegedly radicalising Muslim youths. “We have filed a Rs 10-crore defamation suit against the state. The organisation has been working since 1941. Our work is not such that it would create a rift in society. That circular has done immense damage to our reputation. People are unwilling to allow their daughters to join GIO now,” JIH spokesperson Aslam Ghazi said. The suit names nine entities, including the Union of India and the Maharashtra government. It has also made the state DGP, Mumbai police commissioner, additional commissioner of police Naval Bajaj and DCP Sanjay Shintre a party. Asked why it took so long to file a suit, Ghazi said it was following procedure. “We had sent the state police a notice seeking their explanation, but they ignored it, hence a defamation suit,” Ghazi said. After the organisation protested, the police had said it found nothing adverse against it and that the circular was meant for internal circulation. Police claimed it was probing how the circular was leaked, but stopped short of apologising to the organisation. The Jammat-e-Islami was formed by noted but controversial theologian Abul Ala Maududi who was born in Aurangabad but played a defining role in the history of Pakistan. An organisation with a strong cadre base, its state unit presently operates from a dingy 700-sq ft three-room office in Madanpura. The Girls Islamic Organisation, under the police scanner, operates from this office. The GIO has over 450 full-time members, all below the age of 25. It has a 2,500-strong cadre who are called associate members.   jamaateislamihind.org