Ahmedabad: A large number of Muslim women, including relatives of some arrested "ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) agents" on April 26 staged a dharna to protest, what they alleged as "targeting innocent minority community youths by city police and charging them of involvement in heinous crimes".

The women also vehemently protested against invoking anti-terrorists law Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) on their "sons and husbands", who they claimed were innocent and being randomly picked up by crime branch in connection with murder of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya and serial bomb blasts in buses.

"Police barged into our houses at midnight and threatened us of dire consequences if we raised our voices. They took away my son Yunus at gunpoint, saying that he would be released after producing in court," alleged Khadijabibi, mother of Mohammed Yunus Abdulrahim Sareshwala, one of the five "ISI agents" arrested by crime branch on April 3.

"Are we criminals?…Are we not humans?…that we are being treated in this way," Khadijabibi asked, alleging, that she is not even allowed to meet her son in the custody.

Yunus has been charged of taking the sharpshooter Asghar Ali on motorcycle to Law Garden to assassinate Pandya.

Women sporting banners that read "Stop torture against minorities", "Stop making illusionary stories on Pandya's murder", "Arrest the real culprits", "Why no POTA on killers of Naroda Patiya and Gulbarg", also performed 'namaz' for the immediate release of their "innocent community men".

PTI