04-01-2009, 09:49 AM
<b>'02 riot-hit Muslim ex-cop joins BJP</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->He told TOI on Tuesday that he joined the BJP because of Modi. âModi belongs to the same district as I, and he is one person who does what he says,â says Saiyad, who is from Ganwada village in Mehsana district. âModi has a way of doing justice,â adds Saiyad.
Saiyad, who retired in May 2008 as an additional DGP, had found himself mobbed in Vejalpur area of Ahmedabad in March 2002. Seeing his police vehicle with flashing red lights approaching, the mob had stopped him to complain about stone throwing from the other side.
But someone noticed the name on his badge and started screaming for revenge. As the mob stoned his car, the driver sped away to safety in a miraculous escape for this officer who was heading the Police Training Academy at Karai near Ahmedabad in those days. Recalling the incident in a chat with TOI on Tuesday, Saiyad said: âThey were just mad people who had nothing to do with the BJP. I am thankful that God gave me presence of mind on that day. Had I opened fire with my service revolver, I would have been lynched.â
He attributed his joining the BJP to a âwell-wisherâ who wrote a letter to LK Advani saying that the BJP should enrol educated Muslims like him. A few months after he retired, he got a call from state BJP president Purshottam Rupala who told him that his entry into the party would be âtimed properlyâ. <b>Saiyad says he knew Modi from his days as Mehsana superintendent of police and he was always inclined towards the BJP.</b>
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Saiyad, who retired in May 2008 as an additional DGP, had found himself mobbed in Vejalpur area of Ahmedabad in March 2002. Seeing his police vehicle with flashing red lights approaching, the mob had stopped him to complain about stone throwing from the other side.
But someone noticed the name on his badge and started screaming for revenge. As the mob stoned his car, the driver sped away to safety in a miraculous escape for this officer who was heading the Police Training Academy at Karai near Ahmedabad in those days. Recalling the incident in a chat with TOI on Tuesday, Saiyad said: âThey were just mad people who had nothing to do with the BJP. I am thankful that God gave me presence of mind on that day. Had I opened fire with my service revolver, I would have been lynched.â
He attributed his joining the BJP to a âwell-wisherâ who wrote a letter to LK Advani saying that the BJP should enrol educated Muslims like him. A few months after he retired, he got a call from state BJP president Purshottam Rupala who told him that his entry into the party would be âtimed properlyâ. <b>Saiyad says he knew Modi from his days as Mehsana superintendent of police and he was always inclined towards the BJP.</b>
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