SYED KHALIQUE AHMED
NEW DELHI, MAY 10
Delhi Minorities Commission (DMC) chairman Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan on Sunday submitted his laptop with Delhi Police (Special Cell).
The laptop was submitted following a notice served on him on Saturday, asking him to deposit the laptop for investigation in a case registered against him on the basis of a tweet he made on April 28.
Speaking to India Tomorrow, Dr. Khan said, “I handed over the laptop to the police though the laptop is not required at all for investigation because I have not deleted the tweet. The tweet is very much there on my registered twitter handle. So, any one can have access to it”.
“Moreover, a tweet made or something loaded from a laptop or computer on the Facebook page is not saved in the computer or laptop. It can only be accessed on the Twitter handle of the person or his Facebook page. Yet, I gave my laptop to the police because denying it would have provided the investigators an alibi that I am not cooperating with the probe”, he said.
Dr. Khan has never denied of making the tweets, nor did he apologise for it. However, he reiterated again today saying, “it was ill-timed and insensitive”.
Dr. Khan, through his advocates, has already moved the Delhi High Court, seeking anticipatory bail in the case which is scheduled for hearing on May 12.
Besides, there are two other cases against Dr. Khan in the Delhi High Court, one seeking registration of an FIR against him and another one seeking his removal from his position as DMC chairman. Dr. Khan alleged that these were motivated by BJP supporters who wanted to get him removed from DMC for the good work he had been doing for the minorities which was resented by BJP leaders.
The hearing in both cases is scheduled to be held on May11.
One of the pleas was filed on May 5 by a retired bank official Subhash Chandra. Chandra demanded removal of Dr. Khan from DMC chairmanship on the basis of his April 28 tweet which he interpreted as “seditious and hateful” and registration of an FIR against him on May 2 based on the same tweet.
Chandra argued in his plea filed through his advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava that despite Fir registration, Dr. Khan still stood by his comments. Dr. Khan, according to plea, also said that he had not deleted his controversial tweets which was “erroneously”reported by a section of the media.
Chandra appealed to the court to issue directions to the Delhi government and Lieutenant Governor to forthwith remove Dr. Khan from the post of Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission for his alleged “seditious and hateful acts”.
Earlier, a PIL was filed in the Delhi High Court by a Delhi resident Manoranjan Kumar, seeking registration of an FIR against Dr. Khan for his alleged “inflammatory and threatening statements against the Hindu community”.
However, Dr. Khan has rejected the allegations that his tweets were provocative and threatened any community, or spread ill-will among communities or against national interest. He said that in several of his writings in Urdu, English and Arabic languages, he had defended India. He had also fiercely defended India in several matters at several international fora and also in debates on international TV channels.
(Syed Khalique Ahmed is the Chief Editor of indiatomorrow.net)
