Received threat calls, says BJP MLA Raja Singh

Mumbai: T. Raja Singh, a BJP MLA from Telangana and secretary of Hindu Vaahini, on Friday appeared before the sessions court as a witness in Nanded arms haul case and told the court that he has received threat calls from unkn-own numbers and he has filed complaints in this regard with the police. According to him, he suspects that threatening calls are being made at the instance of an accused in this case. According to the police, the accused had conspired to target Hindu leaders including this witness but police arrested them before they could execute their plan.

Mr Singh, who is educated up to Class 7, on Friday stated before the special NIA court that he is working for promoting and safeguarding the Hindu dharma and also working as gau rakshak. As per his statement, which was recorded by the police, seven cases were registered against him for allegedly provoking communal violence. Since he opposes the slaughter of cows at the time of Bakri Id several cases have been registered against Muslims and due to this, he had received several threatening calls from unknown numbers.

On Friday, he stated before the court that he suspected that one of the accused Mohammed Akram was responsible for threatening calls that were made to him.

The defence lawyers Khan Abdul Wahab, Sharif Shaikh and Qudrat Shaikh cross-examined Mr Singh on behalf of accused. Though Mr Singh had claimed that he was receiving threatening calls from 2009, the defence lawyers claimed that since he was unable to provide a copy of complaints made to police before 2012 his claims that he received threatening calls in 2009 and 2010 were not true.

They also claimed that the ATS had already arrested all the five accused of this case in 2008 there was no scope for them to make threatening phone calls to him. According to the defence, there was nothing on record to show any link between the phone calls received by Singh and present accused.

The ATS in 2012 had arrested Mohammed Muzammil, Mohammed Sadiq, Mohammed Iliyas, Mohammed Irfan and Mohammed Akram from Nanded for allegedly having links with Pakistan-based banned organisation LeT and for possession of illegal firearms to eliminate some Hindu leaders and journalists to create unrest in the country.