Village near city smarts under its ‘terror’ tag

After every bomb blast around Mumbai, the police make a beeline for Padgha village, 60km away. The village is trying to erase the ignominy of being seen as the hub of terror activities. Neeta Kolhatkar reports

Abdul Hamid Nachan, father of Saquib Nachan, the man alleged to have been involved in the Mulund blasts, is an angry man. The 83-year-old has filed a complaint against the home department in Bhiwandi court, challenging allegations that he had gone to France to raise funds for SIMI. In Hamid’s absence, intelligence officials came by, making inquiries about his visit, and are said to have alerted the home ministry about his supposed fund-raising trip.

“My daughter lives in Munich and I had gone to visit her,” an indignant Hamid told DNA. “On my return, I heard about the intelligence officers’ visit. I have filed a complaint with the court, asking the home department to explain the basis for their allegations. I am confident they will fail to do so, since it has been over a month. I demanded financial compensation and a public apology.”

Clearly, Hamid’s anger spills over to the rest of the village as well. Padgha residents are collectively upset about how they are constantly under the scanner. Every time there is a blast anywhere in the country, they are subject to suspicion and enquiries. Some vent anger to false reports of combing operations. Although the local police station remains closed for most of the day, it appears Padgha is being watched by the higher authorities.
“Police and intelligence authorities keep focussing on our village,” says Naseer Mullah, a social worker and businessman.  “They call it a ‘sensitive’ area. But they have to tell us why they’ve created a suspicious environment.  
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He adds: “In 2003, my son Atif and four others, including Saquib, were arrested under POTA for their alleged involvement in bomb blasts [only one of them has been released]. The police have been unfair to us all along.”

The local police, however, say they know nothing about the so-called intelligence alerts. Although superintendent of police Naval Bajaj declines comment about this, he denies any harassment. “These allegations of harassment are unfounded. We have not picked up anyone in the last three years,” Bajaj says.

But Padgha residents say the police personally make inquiries asking for the whereabouts of people they have on their list. Sometimes they call people over for meetings, depending on the nature of the enquiry. Apparently intelligence authorities had asked the home department to increase vigilance at Padgah after even the recent Bangalore and Ahmedabad blasts. They also alleged the village was being frequented by outsiders, and that SIMI meetings had begun to take place here. “We received information that the meetings now take place in the timber yards instead of the masjids,” an intelligence officer told DNA, requesting anonymity. “SIMI activists are working clandestinely.”

When DNA spoke to a former SIMI activist, he said the SIMI office in the village has been sealed since 2001, and there have been no activities since. He said the authorities have no idea about the organisation or its functioning. “They should know that anyone who crosses the age of 30, ceases to be a SIMI member. The people they claim are activists are all over 40,” he added. “We have been victimised because we raised our voices against human rights violations and against the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the form of demonstrations. After the government banned our organisation in 2001, the group has disintegrated. Where is the question of us meeting again?”

The village still does not have pucca roads or a drinking water facility, except for wells. Another village close by, which comprises members of a community different from Padgha residents, is said to be more developed, which also makes the latter resentful.
“We do not differentiate between villages on the basis of religion. We are only concerned about who might be harbouring criminals. The district authorities say the police have intelligence information about who these villagers might be, though I am not the right person to comment about this,” says district collector SS Zande.

Part of Padgha’s anger at being tagged a village with terror ties may have to do with the fact that it is prosperous and educated, and thereby an unlikely ground for breeding terrorists. Most people have a good income from the timber trade and the village, as a whole (including some Dalit families) lays so much of emphasis on education that it is at a remarkable 85 per cent. Ironically, say the villagers, this has probably gone against them. “We are all educated and encourage our children to study. Everyone can speak Konkani, Hindi, Urdu and Marathi, besides English. We are a prosperous village, and the police can’t bear to see that,” says this Subhan Deokar, a village elder.