24, Aug 2014

Moin Mian Says Peddlers Frequent 19 Localities
Residents of Dongri area were amazed last week when they saw a group of spirited activists, many of them holding torches and sticks, roaming their streets at night. The march was part of the `Drug-Free Mumbai Campaign’ being led by Maulana Syed Moinuddin Ashraf, popularly known as Moin Mian, head of Jamia Qadriya Ashrafia madrassa in Grant Road.
Clad in a white flowing robe and a cap, the senior cleric has declared a jihad against drug peddlers with a nexus with police. Moin Mian, accompanied by fellow protestors including MLA Amin Patel and exMLA Yusuf Abrahni, invariably invites local cops to the marches through narrow streets. “We have identified 19 localities including, Dongri, Nagpada, JJ, Pydhonie, and Agripada that are dens of drug peddlers. We have forced the anti-narcotics cell of the Mumbai police to crack down on the drug mafia,“ says Moin Mian, who adds that ever since he launched the campaign, along with NGO Social Educational Welfare Association (SEWA) on August 15 at Islam Gymkhana, results have been encouraging.“Earlier people were too scared to speak out against the peddlers who don’t hesitate to attack anyone. Now people join the protests and direct police teams to the dens,“ says the spiritual leader. “It is an encouraging campaign. We have given our cell numbers to the volunteers to inform us. We are committed to act against the offenders,“ says DCP (Anti-Narcotics Cell) Namdeo Chavan.