Organisers of a book launch in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad have accused the city police of harassment and intimidation ahead of and during the event, which featured the memoir of Ehtesham Siddiqui, one of the men acquitted after nearly two decades in prison for the 2006 Mumbai train blasts.
The event, held on Saturday evening at Baitul Yateem near Haj House on VIP Road, marked the Aurangabad re-launch of Horror Saga, a prison memoir written by Siddiqui while on death row at Nagpur Central Prison. The book, composed of 200 lyrical ballads, recounts his experiences of torture, isolation, and the alleged fabrication of evidence by investigative agencies.
Siddiqui was among the five men sentenced to death in 2015 under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in July this year after 19 years of wrongful incarceration.
In a statement released Sunday, the Aurangabad chapter of the Innocence Network, which organised the event, alleged that local police made repeated phone calls to the organisers in the days leading up to the launch, urging them to cancel the program. Officers also allegedly visited the venue owner to “inquire” about the event.
On the evening of the launch, police reportedly stationed a contingent about 200 meters from the venue and stopped several attendees for questioning. Guests were asked to provide their names, addresses, and reasons for attending. Those who said they were present for the book release were allegedly told the event was “dangerous” and involved “bomb blast accused.”
Several invitees reportedly turned back following the questioning. Despite the police presence, the event proceeded peacefully, drawing about 50 attendees and concluding at 10 p.m.
Organisers said no written orders, notices, or First Information Reports (FIRs) were issued to justify the police action. “The police acted without lawful authority — using coercion and intimidation to disrupt a peaceful, indoor event,” the group said in its statement, calling the conduct a violation of the constitutional rights to free expression, assembly, and association.
The event featured Siddiqui, along with former Aurangabad corporator and social worker Mohsin Ahmed; journalist Shareque Naqhbandi; social activist Faisal Khan; Begunah Qaidi author Dr Abdul Wahid; and former opposition leader of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation, Dr. Zafar Ahmed Khan.
Speakers condemned Siddiqui’s 19-year incarceration, demanded state compensation and rehabilitation for all those acquitted in the 7/11 case, and urged the public to read Horror Saga “as an act of solidarity with the wrongfully convicted.”
Innocence Network Aurangabad said it has written to the Commissioner of Police, Aurangabad, demanding a disciplinary inquiry into the officers’ conduct and their immediate suspension. “If the police fear being defamed by the truths in a book, they should reform themselves rather than target citizens acting within the law,” the statement read.
The organisation also urged the Maharashtra government to stop intelligence surveillance and interference in legally organised events.
