PUNE, 9 June 2006 — Tension gripped Satara district in Maharashtra after miscreants dug up ten Muslim graves and vandalized them. According to a complaint lodged with the police by Ishaq Baleshah Saver, the graves were dug up at the Shahi graveyard in Satara city.

Soon after the news of the vandalism spread, prominent Muslim leaders and a large number of Muslims gathered at the graveyard and demanded that the police arrest the culprits. Senior police officials assured them of a thorough inquiry and swift action. So far no arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, Kolhapur was returning to normalcy following communal tension triggered by the discovery of several pamphlets glorifying alleged Hizbul Mujaihedeen terrorist Irfan Athar that were thrown in some Hindu temples in the city. Irfan was killed by the Border Security Force in Kashmir on May 30.

The Kolhapur police, along with Baroach police, raided a madrasa in Baroach in Gujarat where Irfan was studying and arrested four Muslims, two of them Kashmiris, on the suspicion of they being Irfan’s associates and having alleged links to terrorism.

In a peace meeting held at the office of the district collector in Kolhapur, Muslim leaders condemned the anti-national activities of Irfan and said that the slain terrorist would not be given place for burial in the Muslim graveyard in Kolhapur.

The president of the Muslim Board, Kadar Malbari, said that it has been proved that Irfan had indulged in terrorism and has carried out anti-national acts, hence it has been decided that Irfan will not be buried in the Muslim graveyard.

“He has brought disgrace to the community and is a blot on the fair name of Islam,” Malbari said.

Refuting the charges that the madarsas were grooming terrorists, Malbari said in fact the preaching in the madarsas was that of brotherhood not of terrorism.

In yet another incident related to terrorism, the Anti Terrorist Squad of the Bombay police arrested two Muslim youths from Beed district in Marathwada region on Wednesday night.

They seized a sword and two guns from them.