UP Minister accused of murder, Samajwadi Party faces Muslim ire

Lucknow: Senior UP minister Mehboob Ali has been charged with conspiring a murder in his constituency Amroha and the issue has ended up dividing the Muslim community in the region.

Trouble began with a murder of one Shaukat Pasha at Dingarpur in neighbouring Moradabad district on November 25. Pasha, reported to have criminal antecedents, was shot dead at a petrol pump owned by relatives of Mr Ali, who belongs to the Malik caste in Muslims while Pasha belonged to the Turk community.

With the state police refusing to register a complaint against the minister, the entire Turk community and a section of the Malik community have called for a boycott of the politician. Widespread protests began in the district after the murder and are continuing with the protesters demanding the dismissal and arrest of the minister.

The Turk community convened a panchayat and asked Muslims to boycott the SP in the upcoming Assembly elections. If this happens, it could spell major trouble for the party in the Muslim-dominated areas of western UP.

Senior SP leader Shafiqur Rehman Barq, who also belongs to the Turk community, has demanded the minister’s dismissal. He even led a delegation to meet UP DGP Javeed Ahmad for initiating a police action.

Mr Ali, when contacted, denied the charges and said that this is a conspiracy to frame him. “I demand a CBI inquiry into the allegations so that the truth can come out in the open,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pasha’s family is now being visited by leaders from many political leaders, who are extending their support and sympathy to the bereaved family. “Our hopes of getting justice from this government are petering out, so we will now launch an aggressive campaign no action will be taken against him,” said Pasha’s brother, Mughees Pasha.

He further said that his brother was preparing to contest assembly polls against Mehboob Ali and was slain at the minister’s behest. “My brother received a call from the petrol pump and when he went there, he was shot dead”, he added.

The Samajwadi Party has been maintaining a studied silence in the issue. The minister’s son Pervez Ahmad is a Samajwadi MLC too.