New Delhi: After arrested Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist Talib Hussain Shah’s apparent links to the BJP emerged, the saffron party on Tuesday issued a show-cause notice to its Jammu Minority Morcha president Sheikh Bashir asking if he had issued an order appointing Shah as the official head of the unit’s IT cell head.
Shah – a LeT commander who was the alleged mastermind behind a series of explosions in his home district Rajouri – and his associate Faisal Ahmad Dar were overpowered by residents of the remote Tukson Dhok village in Reasi district on July 3 and were handed over to the police. Two AK assault rifles, a pistol, seven grenades and a large quantity of ammunition were recovered from them.
However, soon pictures emerged on social media showing Shah with BJP leaders – including Union home minister Amit Shah. One of the pictures shows J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina presenting Shah with a bouquet, while a letter issued by party leader Sheikh Bashir on May 9, assigning him the role of the IT and social media in-charge of the party’s Minority Morcha (Jammu province) also did the rounds on social media.
This was the second instance in a matter of days in which a person accused of alleged terrorist acts had apparent links to the BJP. Riyaz Attari, the man accused of brutally murdering tailor Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur, was described as a “dedicated [party] worker” by BJP functionaries.
The BJP has claimed that Shah is not a primary member of the party as per official records and has demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into a “terror conspiracy” hatched by the LeT.
On Monday, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh said LeT terrorist Talib Hussain Shah was briefly associated with a political party and also posed as a mediaperson.
J&K BJP disciplinary committee chairman Sunil Sethi served the notice to Bashir, based upon a letter being circulated in the media which indicates that he had appointed Shah as an official of the minority morcha.
“You (Sheikh Bashir) are directed to explain your position on above issue within 48 hours. Please clarify whether you have issued [an] order in favour of a person [Talib Hussain Shah], who is not even [a] primary member of [the] party as per official records and without checking credentials of the person,” said the notice.
Sethi said if any such letter was issued, Bashir should explain the circumstances under which it was issued. “Your act of indiscipline, if [the] order is issued by you, has brought adverse publicity to [the] party and is against the national interest,” he said.
Bashir’s response must reach the disciplinary committee within 48 hours, failing which appropriate action will be recommended against him to the party president, the notice said.
“On inquiry, it is found that neither such appointment was authorised by [the] party president nor it was issued by [the] media cell of [the] party which is [the] central monitoring unit of [the] party in Jammu and Kashmir,” Sethi said.
Activists of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP) raise slogans during a protest against the BJP over its alleged association with Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorist Talib Hussain. Photo: PTI
The BJP on Tuesday demanded an NIA probe into a “terror conspiracy” hatched against the saffron party.
“As it is a serious matter and matter of grave concern, BJP is urging J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha that probe into this serious case should be conducted by NIA to uncover this new terror plan [against BJP and its leaders],” J&K BJP chief Ravinder Raina told reporters here.
Opposition parties have demanded a high-level probe into the Reasi and Udaipur incidents. The Trinamool Congress accused the BJP of “using its members to fan communal violence in the country ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls”.
“Photographs of Talib Shah have gone viral. A terrorist is having links with the BJP. This is a serious issue which needs to be probed. There should be a judicial probe into both incidents, and the truth must be unearthed,” a TMC official said.
(With PTI inputs)