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Police to probe Rajasthan minister's alleged ISI links

Kamla Bora in Jaipur

The Government of Rajasthan has ordered a police inquiry into the charge that Agriculture Minister Tayyeb Hussain has links with agents of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence who are allegedly active in the state's Mewat region.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ordered the inquiry after receiving a memorandum from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad last week.

In its memorandum, the VHP accused the minister of sheltering anti-national elements and ISI agents active in the Mewat region, spread over parts of eastern Rajasthan and adjoining areas of Haryana.

The organisation claimed that the minister was even protecting those accused of involvement in a counterfeit currency racket busted by police in the Mewat area.

An official spokesman said in Jaipur that the inquiry, to be conducted by the superintendent of police, crime branch, criminal investigation department, had been initiated at the minister's own request.

Tayyeb Hussain met Chief Minister Gehlot last week to seek the inquiry so that his name could be cleared, the spokesman said.

Gehlot also directed the transfer of Deputy Superintendent of Police Prahalad Singh Meena, who was posted at Kaman in Bharatpur district, following allegations that he was sheltering anti-national elements, including those with ISI links.

Charges of Hussain having links with ISI agents had been made even in the state assembly earlier this year, but the minister had denied them on the floor of the House.

Of late, police have unearthed cases of spying, fake currency rackets and smuggling in the Mewat region, which is dominated by Meo Muslims. Hussain belongs to the Meo community.

Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party too has demanded a 'thorough probe' against the minister. On Sunday the BJP demanded an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into Hussain's alleged links with ISI agents.

The BJP argued that since Hussain continues to hold office as a minister of the state, there are doubts about the impartiality of the inquiry by the Rajasthan police. The minister should be sacked and the inquiry handed over to the CBI, state BJP vice-president Ghanshyam Tiwari said.

The VHP has also demanded a ban on Hussain entering Mewat pending inquiry.

But the Rajasthan Meo Panchayat, the apex body of the community, has described the charges against Hussain as a conspiracy against the community. The panchayat chief, Chaudhary Shabbir Ahmed, held a press conference in Jaipur on Sunday to deny the charges and said the entire Meo community was with Hussain whom he described as an honest person.

"The BJP and VHP are targeting Hussain to create an inferiority complex in the Meo community and drive a wedge between Muslims and Hindus in the region," Ahmed said.

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