‘Bombers’ turn to books in jail

ANANYA SENGUPTA
New Delhi, Feb. 8: Two of the alleged September 13 Delhi bombers are studying from early morning till late night in Tihar jail so they can complete their university courses.
Ziaur Rehman, 22, is up by 4am and, after his morning rituals, immerses himself in books borrowed from the jail library. His lawyer, Shanwar Khan, has petitioned Delhi High Court so that Ziaur is provided all the study material he needs to sit his BA finals from Jamia Millia Islamia, likely in March.

Saqib Nissar, 25, has already received court permission to appear in the third semester examination of Sikkim Manipal University’s MBA programme, which he was pursuing through a correspondence course.

He will take the exam from jail, probably next month, and is studying eight to 10 hours every day, jail officials say. “Since the trial has not started yet, he has a lot of time to study,” Saqib’s lawyer Vikash Padora said.

The two youths’ eagerness to complete their studies is consistent with a new trend in militancy in India: most militants are now highly educated with their ranks including engineers, doctors and teachers.

Ziaur will move court for permission to take his exam once Jamia Millia announces the dates. “The court will decide whether he should go to the campus and write his papers under guard, or if university officials will come to the jail to conduct the exam,” Khan said. “But I know that with his hardworking ways, he will do well even if he is given seven days to prepare.”

Ziaur is already putting in long hours, jail sources said. “He rises early and then he is in his cell, studying hard. He wants to secure good marks so that, if he is acquitted, he wouldn’t have to run around for a job,” Khan said.

Ziaur’s subjects are Islam in medieval India, cultural history of Islam, media education, government and politics in India, international politics, and social changes and social problems in India.

Jail officials said the two youths have been studying late into the night.
Saqib and Ziaur, alleged Indian Mujahideen members, are accused of involvement in last year’s Delhi blasts that killed 30-odd people and injured over 100.

Officers say the Delhi, Jaipur and Ahmedabad bombings were all carried out by 13 young men from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh. Two of them, including alleged module leader Mohammed Atif Amin, were shot dead in the mid-September Batla House “encounter” in Delhi.

The police have filed chargesheets against the five they have arrested: Saqib, Ziaur, Mohammed Saif, Zeeshan Ahmed and Mohammed Shakeel. The charges come under the Indian Penal Code (murder, attempt to murder, waging war against the nation), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Explosive Substances Act.

Saqib and Ziaur, however, are not the first terror suspects to study and obtain degrees from jail. Nalini Murugan, convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, completed a master’s course in computer applications in 2007. She is lodged in a Chennai prison.