Mumbai-based prison rights activist Abdul Wahid Shaikh (Wahid Deen Mohammad Shaikh) has written to the Mumbai Police Commissioner alleging continued police harassment despite being acquitted of charges related to the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts. Shaikh told Maktoob that the continuous police visits are taking a toll on his family, terrorising his neighbourhood.
Shaikh, who was acquitted of all charges in the case in 2015, claims that police officers visited his residence and made inquiries about his whereabouts and activities, causing fear and anxiety in his neighbourhood.
The letter, dated September 29, details a visit by two police personnel from the Crime Branch to Shaikh’s residence on September 28. Shaikh states that while he was at work at the time, the police officers questioned his wife about his “whereabouts, his work, office address, daily schedule and activities, his mobile number and other questions.”
Shaikh alleges that while the police cited “official duty and routine inquiry,” the visit has created a climate of fear in his neighbourhood. The letter states, “Due to the said police visit, a sense of fear has pervaded the neighbourhood of the applicant.”
Wahid Shaikh, a primary school teacher respected in the neighbourhood, got picked from Mundra as an accused in the 7/11 Mumbai train blasts of 2006. Shaikh had to spend almost nine years in jail to prove his innocence. Of the 13 accused charge-sheeted by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad, Wahid was the only one to be acquitted of all charges.
Since being released from jail, Shaikh, who completed law during his prolonged imprisonment, began campaigning for prisoners’ rights. The human rights defender has written a book on his prison experience, that is translated into Hindi and English.
He further claims that one of the officers, ASI Arun Sawant, later contacted him by phone and repeated the same line of questioning.
This is not the first time Shaikh has raised concerns about harassment. The letter mentions that he previously approached the Delhi High Court in 2019 to have his name removed from a government notification that listed him as a convicted member of the banned organization SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India). The Delhi High Court ruled in his favour, ordering the government to remove his name and issue a corrigendum.
Last year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided Shaikh’s house during the nationwide crackdown on the then-freshly banned Muslim outfit Popular Front of India.
Shaikh’s letter also highlights a complaint he filed with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding harassment by the police. The NHRC, however, closed the case, citing Shaikh’s inclusion in a “Union War Book” of suspected individuals maintained by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
Despite these previous attempts to address the issue, Shaikh maintains that the police continue to target him. The letter concludes with a plea to the Police Commissioner to intervene and “direct the police not to further harass the applicant in the name of official visit.”
 has written to the Mumbai Police Commissioner alleging continued police harassment despite being acquitted of charges related to the 2006 Mumbai train bomb blasts.){kind=link}