AHMEDABAD, April 26: Hundreds of Muslim women on Saturday protested alleged harassment of their community following the murder of a Hindu politician in the communally sensitive Indian state of Gujarat.

“We want the city crime branch to immediately stop detaining innocent Muslim boys,” said Nazneen Bastawala, a local politician in Ahmedabad.

Haren Pandya, a former state home minister and a senior leader of the Hindu nationalist Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), was shot dead in broad daylight last month.

The high-profile murder is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which says it has arrested five Muslim men.

The CBI alleges the accused have connections with Pakistan’s secret service, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

“We are concerned about Pandya’s murder but why are innocent Muslims being detained and harassed, and branded as ISI agents?” Bastawala asked.

Last year up to 2,000 people, mainly Muslims, were killed in communal rioting in the state.

Human rights groups said the BJP state government turned a blind eye to the violence.—AFP