Indian Muslim lawmaker arrested for exposing BJP ‘conspiracy’ behind Pahalgam attack

Police in Indian state of Assam have arrested MLA Aminul Islam on Thursday, a day after he remarked that the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack and the 2019 Pulwama incident could be the result of a “conspiracy” by the top BJP leadership, reported Hindu on Friday.

The MLA represents the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) from central Assam’s Dhing constituency.

Speaking at a political rally on April 23, Mr Islam said he suspected a connection between the Pulwama attack and the Pahalgam incident. “The day 42 Indian soldiers were killed in the Pulwama attack, I said it was a conspiracy. The government conspired to polarise voters and win the 2019 Lok Sabha election. I demanded a probe, but till today, we don’t know how a vehicle carrying 300 kg of RDX could enter a CRPF convoy in a high-security area,” he said. “Because the incident was not probed, the people of the country still do not know who carried out the attack,” Mr Islam said.

“Now, after the Pahalgam attack, the BJP is saying the terrorists fired at the Hindus and spared the Muslims. However, the survivors said nobody’s name was asked. They fired from darkness, secretly. I suspect the Pahalgam attack was carried out by those who had perpetrated the Pulwama attack,” the MLA said.

“If the government does not conduct an impartial probe into this incident and resort to Hindu-Muslim divisive politics, we will suspect this happened due to a conspiracy hatched by (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and (Home Minister) Amit Shah,” he said.

The police said Mr Islam was arrested for his “misleading and instigating” statement in public, which went viral and had the potential to create an adverse situation. A case was registered against him at the Nagaon police station under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. One section (152) criminalises actions that endanger India’s sovereignty, unity, and integrity, another (196) criminalises the promotion of enmity between different groups based on religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community. A third – 113(3) – deals with abetting, attempting, conspiring, or facilitating the commission of a terrorist act.

AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal distanced his party from Mr Islam’s “personal” views. “What he said was unfortunate and does not reflect our party’s stance. We stand with our state government, as terrorists are terrorists without any caste or religion,” he said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said Assam would take the strongest possible action against anyone who dares to defend, directly or indirectly, the horrific attack in Pahalgam.