Lok Sabha MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s home in Delhi’s Ashoka Road area was vandalised on Tuesday evening.
The police have detained five men in connection with the incident, according to The Indian Express. The accused persons are reportedly associated with Hindutva group Hindu Sena. On Wednesday evening, a court in Delhi sent four of the accused persons to judicial custody for 14 days and another man to one-day police remand, ANI reported.
“They [the accused] said they heard Owaisi’s recent speeches and believed he had made ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks,” an unidentified senior police officer told The Indian Express.
The men who vandalised Owaisi’s home were angry about his comments, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Deepak Yadav said. He added that the accused persons were being questioned.
Owaisi said that the men were armed with sticks and axes and pelted stones at his home.
“Their cowardice is well-known and as usual they came in a mob, not alone,” the Lok Sabha MP tweeted. “They also chose a time when I was not home.”
Owaisi claimed that the men shouted communal slogans outside his house and threatened to kill him. They also assaulted the caretaker of the politician’s home.
The AIMIM chief said that this was the third time his home had been vandalised. “The last time it was vandalised, Rajnath Singh was not only the home minister but also my neighbour,” he added.
The politician pointed out that his home was next to the headquarters of the Election Commission and the Parliament street police station was right across the street.
“The Prime Minister’s residence is eight minutes away,” Owaisi highlighted. “If an MP’s house is not safe, then what message is [Union Home Minister] Amit Shah sending?”
Owaisi described the attackers as radicalised goons and asked what led to their crime. “The prime minister preaches to the world how we must fight radicalisation, please tell who radicalised these goons?” he said.
The Lok Sabha MP added that the incident had not scared him. “They don’t know Majlis and what we are made of,” Owaisi said. “We will never stop our fight for justice.”
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