Raza Academy refuses to pay Rs 3 crore in damages for Azad Maidan riots

A year on from the Azad Maidan protests in August 2012 which turned violent and caused Rs 2.7 crore in damage to public property, the administration is no closer to recovering the damages. First there was confusion over the postal addresses of prime accused Ahmed Raza Shaikh of Madinatullah Foundation and Sayyed Noori of Raza Academy. Now that the new address has been confirmed and the notices have been delivered, the Raza Academy is denying any involvement in organising the protest rally. According to a Mumbai Mirror report, Saeed Noori of the Academy has said that the organisation was not even remotely involved in organising the event, and that the organisation’s members had only attended the event on an invitation. [caption id=“attachment_1094367” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Azad Maidan riots of August 2011. PTI image[/caption] “Permission to hold the rally was taken by Madinatullah Foundation,” he said to Mumbai Mirror. “The collector has issued us a notice asking us to pay damages. We have sent them a reply, which clearly states that since we were not responsible for the riots, we will not pay a single penny.” The Indian Express had reported that in July, 18 of the 77 suspects who were issued showcause notices in relation to the riots had denied any role in the destruction of property and have refused to pay compensation. The Collector’s office has so far received responses from just 18 of the 77 suspects who were issued showcause notices. All 18 have denied any role in the destruction of property and have refused to pay any compensation. They have now been called for hearings. According to the crime branch, Raza Shaikh, general secretary of NGO Madinatul Ilm, held around six meetings urging various groups to join the rally, although he had told police that the rally would attract only around 1,200 people.