MEERUT: A day after Masood Madani , brother of Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind general secretary Maulana Mehmood Madani , was arrested on charges of rape, a BJP leader has called for the Darul Uloom , Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind and other Islamic seminaries and organisations to be shut down, claiming that such incidents of clerics victimizing the gullible under the pretext of religious healing had happened far too often."The most horrible crime has been committed by Masood Madani, who is someone in a very powerful place. His brother sits in the governing body of Darul Uloom and the Jamiat itself is a very influential body. Masood Madani, himself, has been a minister and has been associated with the Jamiat and Darul Uloom. If people who hold this kind of sway in such influential Islamic organisations commit these kinds of crimes, then the organisation should also be held responsible. They have not even issued a statement condemning the incident, nor have they disassociated themselves from Masood Madani. Therefore, the organisation's support is clear. I appeal to the state government to shut down Darul Uloom, Jamiat and other such organisations which exploit women under the pretext of Islam," said Gajaraj Rana, BJP city president, Saharanpur.Rana also claimed that incidents of rape and exploitation at Darul Uloom and Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind have happened in the past, but only the BJP government acted. "These incidents occur frequently. This is not the first time. The victim in this case has said that Masood Madani told her that she was his 25th victim. But, no other regime prior to the BJP government had the courage to act. People like Madani enjoyed impunity. Now that has changed and all these people and their organisations will be made to face the law," Rana added.Raghav Lakhanpal, MP from Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat, which Deoband is a part of, distanced himself from Rana's comment, but did say that the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind should have issued a statement. "I wouldn't say that Darul Uloom should be shut down. That's too extreme. Masood Madani has committed a crime; the entire institution should not suffer as a result of that. However, it is true that Darul Uloom or Jamiat have not issued any statement in this regard. Such a horrible crime has been committed by a close associate of these organisations and not a word has been forthcoming. Their silence is bewildering," said Lakhanpal.Masood Madani was arrested on Saturday by Deoband police and booked under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code after the woman from Jind, Haryana, filed a complaint against him.

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