All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was booked by the Hyderabad Police on Wednesday for allegedly threatening and obstructing a police officer from performing official duty during an election rally, reported PTI.
Akbaruddin Owaisi, the younger brother of AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, was speaking at a rally in the Chandrayangutta constituency on Tuesday night, ahead of the Assembly elections in Telangana on November 30.
The station house officer of the Santosh Nagar police station and other officials were at the spot for duty and reportedly reminded Akbaruddin Owaisi of the 10 pm deadline for election campaigning in accordance with the Model Code of Conduct.
In a video doing rounds on social media, the leader can be heard telling the police officer: “Inspector sahab [sir] I have a watch with me. Shall I give my watch to you? You leave, please leave.”
Owaisi asked if the officer thought he had “become weak facing knives and bullets”.
“I still have a lot of courage,” he added. “There are still five minutes left and I will speak. No one can stop me. If I give a signal, then you will have to run away...shall we make him run? They come to weaken us.”
The AIMIM leader was booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different religious groups), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
A senior police official from the Santosh Nagar police station told PTI that the station house officer was at the rally as part of security but Owaisi thought he had come to stop him from speaking. That was not the matter, said the Santosh Nagar police station official.
However, Owaisi accused the police of lying. “I have videos, I have the footage,” he said, reported The Hindu. “He [station house officer] climbed the steps and got onto the stage.”
Owaisi also said that his rally was organised only after obtaining valid permissions and that he was within the time limit set by the Election Commission.
“Do we not know the rules and regulations of how much time we have?” he said. “The time was till 10 pm. If the speech went on after 10 pm, then they have the right to book a case against me as per law.”
At a separate event, Asaduddin Owaisi also criticised the police and demanded an enquiry by the poll panel.
“It was the returning officer who gave permission [for the rally],” said the AIMIM chief. “But you [police] insisted that we finish five minutes before the deadline. What are we to do then? A man is giving a speech, and you say ‘stop it’, ‘time is up’. What is this? Will you not take action against him?”
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