Owaisi: accused of making hate speeches.
Agencies/Hyderabad
Controversial politician Akbaruddin Owaisi was arrested yesterday in a case booked against him for delivering alleged hate speeches.
After undergoing medical tests through the day at government-run Gandhi Hospital, the legislator was arrested by the police. The medical tests showed that he was fit to face the questioning.
Sources said Owaisi was arrested as the police officers were not convinced by his explanation that he had gone to London for medical treatment.
After his arrest Owaisi was taken to Nirmal in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh where a first information report has been registered against him for allegedly delivering a hate speech.
Owaisi’s lawyer Shafiuddin Khan accused the police of arresting the legislator arbitrarily. He claimed that Owaisi was not well and could collapse due stress after his arrest.
“Akbaruddin Owaisi never wanted to evade the law, he had been co-operating,” Khan said.
He said Owaisi had not eaten since morning. He also said the MIM leader was not given the medical report.
“We have not been informed by the police where Owaisi has been taken. Owaisi was not allowed to go to his house too. Owaisi had gone to London for re-evaluation and medical check-up,” Khan said.
“We have maintained total co-operation. The police are not sure what they want to do. Owaisi has developed acute pain and hernia due to which he is suffering,” Khan added.
Owaisi was arrested soon after his medical report was released after a test at a hospital in Hyderabad.
Earlier, the legislator underwent 11 tests at the hospital with the police waiting for the doctors’ report before taking a decision on arresting him.
Akbar’s lawyer came out of the hospital around 4pm to announce that his client was being made to wait without breakfast.
Tension prevailed outside the hospital with hundreds of MIM workers reaching there to show solidarity with their leader.
Some threw stones on buses and other vehicles, forcing police to use force to disperse them. Police sealed off all routes leading to the hospital.
The police stepped up security in the communally sensitive old city in anticipation of protests by MIM in the event of Akbar’s arrest.
Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in the old city and other parts of the city.
Earlier, the legislator with tight police security left his house in Banjara Hills for the hospital at 10.30am after police served a notice asking him to undergo the medical tests.
MIM leaders including party chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi were at Akbar’s house before he left for the hospital.
Akbar, who returned from London early Monday, sought four days’ time to appear before police citing ill-health.
He was ordered by police to appear at the Nirmal town police station, about 200km from here, for questioning over his alleged hate speech delivered last month.
The investigating officer visited Akbar’s house on Monday night.
Inspector General of Police A B Venkateshwar Rao told reporters that the officer found Akbar in a fit condition but the legislator complained of some “internal pains.”
The 42-year-old was seriously injured in an assassination attempt by his rivals in the old city in May 2011.
Police in Nizamabad had also asked Akbar to appear before them today in connection with a similar case in that town.
Akbar, who is an MIM member in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, also moved the high court, seeking orders to restrain police from arresting him.
Two FIRs were registered at Adilabad and Nizamabad districts while a third case was registered by Osmania University police, following a court directive after Owaisi allegedly used inflammatory language against a particular community in December 2012.