UAPA invoked selectively to target particular community: Asaduddin Owaisi

Alleging selective use of UAPA Act 2019, which empowers the center to designate individuals as terrorists, AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday said the new law is being used against individuals of a particular community.

He made the statement in the backdrop of the arrests made by Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Madhya Pradesh Satna on Thursday and asked if the UAPA list is "reserved for one community".

"Names of terror funding accused: Balram, Sunil, and Shubham. Will these names make it to UAPA list or is it reserved for 'ek hi samudaaye'?(for one community only?) It's my case that terrorism doesn't have religion Will @PMOIndia take back the ridiculous things he said in Wardha?," tweeted Owaisi.

"Balram was out on bail for a similar case and recruited new people to continue operations. Maybe, if @AmitShah was actually interested in national security and not imagined 'internal enemies', the country would be safer," he said in a subsequent tweet.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Thursday arrested three people and detained two others of a gang, which was allegedly involved in terror funding, from Madhya Pradesh's Satna. According to ATS, 13 Pakistani phone numbers have been recovered from those who have been arrested. They were allegedly in contact with people in Pakistan through these numbers.

The four accused persons have been identified as Sunil Singh, Shubham Tiwari, Balram Singh Patel, Bhagvendra Singh Patel. The name of the fifth member is yet to be ascertained.

Earlier also, the ATS had arrested Balram, but he was later granted bail around two years ago. After that, he again resorted to terror funding by using Sunil Singh as a pawn. Now, Balram and Singh along with other accused are in police custody.

Earlier this month President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the legislation under which individuals can be declared as terrorists, their properties seized, and travel ban can also be imposed.