Corporator Who Opposed Resolution To Pay Tribute To Vajpayee, Beaten Up & Jailed

On August 18, an All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator, Sayyed Mateen Rashid (32), was sent to judicial custody after he opposed a resolution to pay tribute to the late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Sayyed was allegedly assaulted by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) corporators and was rushed out of the meeting by police.

Reportedly, the incident happened last week during the civic body’s general body meeting, when Rashid had opposed a resolution to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He was booked under Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers and Drug Offenders Act (MPDA).

Aurangabad police’s response

Confirming Sayyed’s arrest, the Aurangabad Commissioner Chiranjeev Prasad told the New Indian Express, that there were many cases against him and he was a “danger to public order”.

“Serious offences like arson, rioting, inciting mob for breach of communal harmony, creating alarm in society. Hence (the police were) left with no choice but to book him under MPDA. Other preventive actions failed to check him,” he said. Two separate offences were registered against Sayyed including section 153A of the IPC for promoting enmity between different groups, and another case of vandalism was also registered.

Beaten up with footwear

During the meeting, after he opposed the resolution, some Bhartiya Janta Patry corporator started beating him with his footwear. Some corporators, including women, also kicked him.

Sayyed was arrested by Aurangabad police on August 18 and was later released on bail on August 21. The other five BJP corporators were arrested and later released on bail.

However, after the bail, Sayyed was again held by the police this time under MPDA charges. Later, he was sent to judicial custody for a year.

Political party stand

The AIMIM MLA, Syed Imtiaz, called the entire incident a “police excess”. He said, “There are only two cases against Syyed, which are political in nature. The party had condoled Vajpayee’s death, and I had issued a press release on it, Rashid never told the party that he was planning to oppose the resolution to pay tribute to the leader. However, this is an internal party matter. Members of the BJP badly thrashed Rashid — we have CCTV footage (of the assault).”

Talking about the bail given to the BJP corporators, he said, “Despite such a grave offence committed by BJP members, the police went slow on them and granted them bail.”

“We will not only challenge the bail granted to the BJP corporators but also be looking at legal remedies against the preventive detention,” he added.

Family’s response

While talking to the Indian Express, Sayyed’s family said, he was a victim of a “political conspiracy”.

“All news channels showed a video of Sayyed getting beaten up. Someone even counted how many times he was beaten. And now he is sent to jail for one year. What will happen to his wife and children? This is a conspiracy against my son by some people who did not want him to succeed in politics. He was not even released for Eid,” said Sayyed’s mother.

In the past, Sayyed had protested against the singing of national anthem in the civic body.

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