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Revision as of 10:23, 14 September 2014 by BengaliHindu (talk | contribs) (info+)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Ahmed Hassan (Template:Lang-bn) alias Imran is a veteran journalist and elected MP of Rajya Sabha from West Bengal, India. He had sworn into the parliament on 9 June 2014.
Early life
The Rajyasabha website does not mention Imran's date or place of birth. According to Imran himself, he was born in the Mal police station area of Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal. He claims to be 100% Indian. However according to a report of the Indian High Commissioner in Dhaka sent to the Ministry of External Affairs, he was presumably born in East Pakistan. He infiltrated into Indian territory in 1970 or 1971 from Sylhet in present day Bangladesh. Initially he stayed in Dhubri district in Assam. Later he shifted to Dhupguri in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.
Career
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According to the report of the Ministry of External Affairs, in 1975-76 Imran founded West Bengal Muslim Students Association. The organization rapidly spread through the state. On 24 April 1977, Imran co-founded the Students Islamic Movement of India in Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. Imran became the president of the West Bengal unit of the organization and held the position till 1980. Even after relinquishing the position, Imran remained the primary organizer and spokesperson of the organization till it was banned in 2001. He setup the office of SIMI in a two room apartment in 19, Dargah Road in the Park Circus area of Kolkata. In 1981, he started publishing Kalom as the monthly Bengali mouthpiece of SIMI. Kalom continued to be published as a monthly till 1994. During his period SIMI spread throughout the length and breadth of West Bengal.
According to the report, as a result of SIMI's growth in West Bengal, Imran became popular in the Islamist circles. He was appointed as the board member of the Jeddah based Islamic Development Bank to oversee the affairs of the eastern zone. Mamul al Azam, who is the Managing Director of Islamic Development Bank, is the son of Ghulam Azam, a convicted war criminal of Bangladesh and retired leader of Jamaat-e-Islami. According to Indian intelligence reports, Imran is very close to Mamul ul Azam. Soon after his appointment as the board member of the IDB, Imran converted Kalom into a weekly. In 1998, he converted Kalom into a daily. At this time he shifted the office of SIMI and Kalom from Park Circus to 45, Eliot Road. The erstwhile office at 19, Dargah Road became a hideout of the SIMI cadres. Apart from being the editor of Kalom, Imran also acted as the India correspondent of a Jamaat-e-Islami controlled Bengali daily named Naya Diganta published from Bangladesh. His articles were published regularly in Naya Diganta. He also acted as the news gatherer for Bengali division of Radio Tehran. In 2011, he sold Kalom to Sudipta Sen, the CEO of Saradha Group.
Allegations of anti-national activities
Links with Jamaat-e-Islami
During the 2014 general elections, Gautam Deb, the former Housing Minister of West Bengal, quoting from a secret report, alleged that Imran was a front man of the Jamaat-e-Islami. Deb further alleged that Imran maintained close association with many top ranking Jamaat-e-Islami leaders. Imran denied all the allegations and contemplated legal action against Deb. According to a Ministry of External Affairs report, Imran had direct connection with Jamaat-e-Islami leaders like Ghulam Azam, Motiur Rahman Nizami, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed, Mir Quasem Ali and Abdul Quader Mollah. Many of these leaders are either accused or convicted of genocide of the Bengali Hindus during the Bangladesh Liberation War. According to an Indian intelligence report, Imran and one Maulana Asif Khan had channeled huge amounts of money to Jamaat-e-Islami and BNP in 2014.
According to Bangladesh based human rights activist Shahriyar Kabir, Imran has close connections with Jamaat-e-Islami. Imran has denied any connection with the Jamaat-e-Islami and maintains that he left SIMI in 1984.
2007 Kolkata riots
Main article: 2007 Kolkata riotsAccording to Indian Intelligence Bureau reports, Imran along with Idris Ali played a major role in the violent riots in Kolkata on 21 November 2007. People under the banner of All India Minority Forum blockaded major part of the central Kolkata and resorted to arson and violence in their plea to evict exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin from West Bengal.
2013 Canning riots
Main article: 2013 Canning riotsAccording to report of the South 24 Parganas district Intelligence Bureau send to the West Bengal Home Department, Ahmed Hassan Imran was directly involved in the Canning riots in 2013. The report stated that on 21 February 2013, Imran send large numbers of Muslim youths armed with bombs and other arms from Park Circus to Naliakhali. He also send armed youths from Muslim dominated Rajabazar and Metiabruz of Kolkata and Magrahat and Basanti of South 24 Parganas district to Naliakhali. The armed youths looted and set fire to around 300 houses. In the evening he convened a meeting with several Muslim leaders in a five star hotel in Kolkata, where he shared how he had organized the violence and how he would control the area in future.
Investigations
Bangladesh
According to Indian Home Ministry report, the Bangladesh government has blocked the visa of Ahmed Hassan. The Bangladesh government has formed a committee to investigate the channeling of Saradha's funds to Jamaat-e-Islami. It has started preparing a report on the Jamaat-e-Islami has utilized the funds from Saradha in the 2014 Bangladesh general elections and the relation between Jamaat-e-Islami and Ahmed Hassan Imran. In a seminar arranged by the Bangladesh government in Dhaka, the Liberation War Minister called for a join task force between India, Bangladesh and Myanmar to stop the terrorist activity of Jamaat-e-Islami.
India
The Indian Home Ministry has directed the National Investigation Agency to work closely with the Bangladeshi counterpart to probe the link between Jamaat-e-Islami and Ahmed Hassan Imran. The National Investigation Agency has also started investigation on the connections between Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh.
References
- "TMC fields painter Jogen for RS seat". The Indian Express. February 7, 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- Bandopadhyay, Sabyasachi (February 7, 2014). "RS elections: Trinamool wins as Cong, Left Front MLAs vote in favour". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- Chowdhury, Rajib (Feb 8, 2014). "Cross-vote cloud on Bengal vote". The Asian Age. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- "Defections help TMC's 4th candidate sail through to Rajya Sabha". The Times of India. Feb 8, 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- "Six legislators cross-vote in West Bengal". Zee News. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
- "WebPage of Shri Ahamed Hassan Member Of Parliament". Rajya Sabha. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- "ইমরান-কান্ডে আরও চাপ বাড়াল বিরোধীরা". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Kolkata. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Jagannath, Chattopadhyay (12 September 2014). "নবান্নেও এসেছে সতর্কবার্তা, প্রশাসন অনড়ই". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Kolkata. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- "Asif in tell-all mode in 8-hour CBI grilling". The Times of India. 9 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Bagchi, Suvojit (11 May 2014). "TMC MP frontman for Bangladesh Jamat-e-Islami, says Gautam Deb". The Hindu. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- "'Major US operation to oust Hasina'". bdnews24.com. 3 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- "Bangla meet in air as pot boils". The Telegraph. Kolkata. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- "Probe started against Trinamool MP Imran". bdnews24.com. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Ghatak, Shubhashish (13 September 2014). "ইমরান নিয়ে সতর্ক করেন রাজ্যের গোয়েন্দারাও". Anandabazar Patrika (in Bengali). Kolkata. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
- ^ "তৃণমূল এম পির বাংলাদেশে ঢোকা নিষেধ, জামাত যোগের তথ্যও ঢাকা দেবে দিল্লিকে". Dainik Bartaman (in Bengali). Kolkata. 14 September. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
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