Saturday, January 15, 2011

Abdul Kaleem – the man who moved Aseemanand to confess

By Mumtaz Alam Falahi,TwoCircles.net
New Delhi: Even hardcore terrorists and diehard Hindutva extremists could have a heart which can melt, forcing them to admit their sins. This became evident in the case of Swami Aseemanand. What moved old RSS man Aseemanand to confess his role in terror blasts in the country is not investigators’ hard questioning but the good moral conduct of a Muslim youth – 21-year-old Abdul Kaleem.


The Muslim boy who 'converted' Swami Aseemanand in Hyderabad jail
During his brief stay in Chanchalguda district jail in Hyderabad after his arrest in November 2010 in connection with Mecca Masjid blast case, Aseemanand encountered an inexplicable human experience. He was converted at heart by a young co-inmate Kaleem. Kaleem helped Aseemanand lot in the jail – he would help the old man by bringing him food, water etc. The terror conspirator was very much moved by the Muslim youth’s conduct. But the dramatic turn came when Aseemanand one day asked Kaleem to tell him about him and his family. One of hundreds of innocent Muslim youths languishing in jail in terror cases, Kaleem told Aseemanand he had served one and half years in the same jail in the Mecca Masjid blast case. He told him he was innocent. At that moment, the conscience in Aseemand woke up and he decided to confess the sins he has done and for which innocent Muslims youths are being punished.
“Sir, when I was lodged in Chanchalguda district jail in Hyderabad, one of my co-inmates was Kaleem. During my interaction with Kaleem I learnt that he was previously arrested in the Mecca Masjid bomb blast case and he had to spend about one and half years in prison. During my stay in jail, Kaleem helped me a lot and used to serve me by bringing water, food, etc for me. I was very moved by Kaleem’s good conduct and my conscience asked me to do prayschit (penance) by making a confessional statement so that real culprits can be punished and no innocent has to suffer,” Aseemanand said in his confessional statement before the magistrate in New Delhi on 18th December 2010.
In his 42-page confessional statement, Aseemanand confessed he and other Hindutva extremists were behind various terror blasts in the country including Malegaon, Ajmer, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express. He has also named RSS leader Indresh Kumar as main conspirator. Aseemanand was arrested on 19 November 2010 by the CBI from a hideout in Haridwar. He had been a fugitive for over two years since Sadhvi Pragya’s arrest in October 2008.
According to Tehelka weekly which first disclosed Aseemanand’s confession, Kaleem, a cell phone seller, was arrested and tortured in 2007 for the blast at Mecca Masjid in Hyderabad. He spent a year-and-half in jail before being acquitted.

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