Controversial book on RSS found in madrasa during search in fake currency case

PTI, Sep 4, 2024, 9:45 AM IST

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Prayagraj (UP): Prayagraj police recovered a book comparing the RSS with a terrorist organisation from a madrasa here during its search linked to a fake currency case and suspects its cleric was using it to “instil anti-RSS sentiments” among students, officials said on Tuesday.

A senior Prayagraj police official said that during a raid at the Jamia Habibia Masjide Azam Madrasa in the Atarsuiya area here on August 28, in addition to counterfeit currency, the police found the book.

Upon translation from Urdu to Hindi, it was identified as SM Musharraf’s book “RSS: The Biggest Terrorist Organization in the Country”, the official said.

The police suspect that the madrasa’s cleric, Mohammad Tafseerul Arifeen, was using this book to “instil anti-RSS sentiments in the minds of children”.

In connection with this case, teams from the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) questioned the madrasa staff on Tuesday.

An officer from the Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) said, “On Tuesday, ATS and LIU teams visited Jamia Habibia Masjide Azam Madrasa to question the staff and students. However, no significant information emerged from the interrogation.” The officer also mentioned that the police would soon file a petition in court seeking the remand of the arrested suspects for further questioning in the fake currency case.

The madrasa staff and students have denied any knowledge about the counterfeit currency operation, the officer said.

On August 28, Prayagraj police smashed a counterfeit currency gang, arresting four suspects and seizing a total of 1,300 fake 100-rupee notes, 234 printed pages (uncut), one laptop, one colour printer, two bundles of bound paper and one bundle of loose paper, according to officials.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (City) Deepak Bhuker said the gang leader, Jahir Khan from Bhadrak, Odisha, along with Mohammad Afzal from Kareli, Prayagraj, was involved in printing fake currency in a room at Jamia Habibia Masjide Azam Madrasa.

Bhuker said madrasa cleric Arifeen had provided a separate room in the madrasa for the production of counterfeit currency, with Mohammad Shahid assisting in the operation.

According to Bhuker, the gang had been involved in the counterfeit currency business for the past three to four months, providing fake notes with a face value of Rs45,000 rupees in exchange for genuine notes of 15,000 rupees.

The police filed a case against the arrested suspects under sections 178 (counterfeiting coin, government stamps, currency notes or bank notes), 179 (using as genuine, forged or counterfeit coin, government stamp, currency notes or bank notes), and 180 (possession of forged or counterfeit coin, government stamp, currency-notes or bank-note) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

They have also been booked under sections 181 (making or possessing instruments or materials for forging or counterfeiting coin, government stamps, currency notes or bank notes) and 182(1) (making or using documents resembling currency notes or bank notes) of the BNS.