Lok Janshakti starts fast to protest Muslim youths' arrests

New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) The Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) has launched an indefinite hunger strike here to protest "the arrest of Muslim youth in the name of fighting terrorism" and has also demanded a white paper on the banned Indian Mujahideen outfit, which has been held responsible for terrorist attacks in India.

The hunger-strike, which was launched Nov 26, is being held at Batla House Chowk in Jamia Nagar locality of south Delhi - the scene of a controversial gun battle in 2008 between alleged Indian Mujahideen terrorists and a Delhi Police team after the serial blasts in the city.

The hunger-strike was launched in the presence of LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan and is being led by the party's national youth wing secretary general Amanatullah Khan.

"We want to know the people who are behind the Indian Mujahideen. If they are among us, we want to expose them. We are unnecessarily being harassed due to them. We demand a white paper on Indian Mujahideen in parliament. If our demands are not met within a week, we will go on hunger-strike at the residence of the prime minister," LJP national secretary general Abdul Khalik told IANS.

Many Muslim youths have been acquitted of terror charges by the courts in the past few years after they were found innocent, he said.

Khan demanded setting up of a fast track court to try terrorism cases.

"When youths are declared innocent after spending 10-12 years behind bars, their life and their family's life is destroyed. So a fast track court will try the case quickly and help save the innocent from harassment," he said.

The party's national youth president Sanjay Saraf said, "If any person arrested for a bomb blast is a terrorist, punish him, but if someone is released after spending 12 years in jail the police officials responsible for his plight should be punished and the innocent person should be rehabilitated with economic support from the government."

Commenting on the arrests in terrorism related cases, Saraf said: "If there is a raid, the police personnel should be in uniform and should possess a proper warrant for the arrest."