NCP-SP Working President and Baramati MP Supriya Sule on Wednesday demanded a "thorough investigation" and "strict punishment" after Kargil war veteran Hakimuddin Shaikh’s family was allegedly harassed by the Pune Police and a group of unidentified individuals, who stormed their residence in Chandannagar, asking them to prove their citizenship.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Sule wrote in Marathi, "The land of Maharashtra has always honoured the soldiers who laid down their lives for the country. But during this government, it is very unfortunate and condemnable that even the brave soldiers who fought in the Kargil war have to face harassment from the Home Department."
"The Home Department threatened the family of Naik Havaldar (Retd) Hakimuddin Shaikh, who lives in the Chandannagar area of Pune city, to show their residence documents or else they will be declared Rohingya Muslims. In fact, the Shaikh family is known in this area as brave soldiers who fought in the Kargil war. Apart from this, their brothers and other relatives have also served in the army in various positions. A soldier knows only to lay down his life for the country, both while in service and while not. But this humiliating treatment meted out to his family is also an insult to the teachings of the entire army," she added.
"We strongly condemn this incident. Our position is that a fair and thorough investigation into this incident must be conducted and the strictest action must be taken against the guilty," Sule further said.
Shaikh's family members claimed that several individuals came to their house at 11:30 pm on July 26. All the men of their family were taken to the Chandannagar Police Station and made to wait until 3 am. They were told to produce documents to prove their citizenship, failing which they would be declared illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or Rohingyas.
Reportedly, Hakimuddin Shaikh, who retired as a Naik Havildar from the Indian Army's 269 Engineer Regiment of the Corps of Engineers, lived in Pune until 2013 before moving to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. However, the rest of his family members, including brothers, nephews and their wives, still live in Pune.
Meanwhile, DCP (Zone IV) Somay Munde said the Shaikh family was only asked to produce documents after his team had received inputs about some Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in the locality.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar has said that the matter is under investigation. "If any negligence is found on the part of the police, we will take appropriate action against the personnel involved," he added.
