When MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi boarded a flight for London early Christmas day with his family, little was he to know that what he had uttered a few hours earlier at Nirmal in Adilabad district would kick up a national outrage and lead to several new cases being slapped against him, including that of waging a war against India and promoting enmity between classes.
In fact, not only would the legislator himself be surprised over the development, so would those who know him well. For what he said was nothing new. He has been making such ‘hate’ speeches for several years but the only difference this time was that it became scandalous, thanks to the rising power and reach of the Internet and social networks like YouTube and Facebook. “If you think he would be apologetic about the whole thing, you would be terribly mistaken,” claimed a person who said he knew him for the last two decades.
Rebel with a cause, is how many describe Akbaruddin. Born into the politically powerful family of Salahuddin Owaisi in 1970, he studied till Class X in Hyderabad Public School, then the only elite and up-market school in the city. After completing Intermediate in St Mary’s Junior College in Himayatnagar, the Owaisi scion went to Gulbarga to pursue medicine but during his second year of MBBS in 1992-93, answered the call from his family and abandoned studies to begin a career in politics.
But very soon, the rebel in Akbaruddin got the better of him. In what is considered virtually impossible in even today’s Hyderabad’s Muslim society, Akbaruddin fell in love with a Christian girl and insisted on marrying her. Despite stiff opposition from his father Salahuddin, Akbaruddin went ahead and married the girl in 1995 who began a new life under the name Sabina Farzana. But the son was not forgiven by Salahuddin and had to spend the next two years in wilderness.
However, in 1998, the failing health of Salahuddin forced a rapprochement between the father and the son and Akbaruddin returned to the family fold to take on arch rival Amanullah Khan from Chandrayangutta assembly constituency and began his electoral career with a bang by defeating him in the 1999 polls. From then on, there was no looking back for Akbaruddin. Firmly in command, the Akbar as we know today blossomed. “I will convert Lal Darwaza into Hara Darwaza,” he thundered on one occasion. Lal Darwaza was a Hindu stronghold in the Old City and spawned many leaders like BJP’s A Narendra. In 2007, he threatened to carry out the fatwa issued against author Salman Rushdie and behead writer Taslima Nasreen if she sets foot in Hyderabad. “See what happened to Taslima and P V Narasimha Rao. They were forced into oblivion for hurting the sentiments of the Muslims,” the MIM MLA said at the Nirmal meeting on December 24 even as the crowd chanted ‘Sher-e-Deccan’.
In April 2011, Akbaruddin survived an attempt on his life by a group led by rival Mohammed Pehalwan. “If my enemies want to eliminate me, they should trying using a cannon,” he said at the Nirmal meeting. It remains to be seen how the rebel, fiery and rabblerousing self-declared champion of Muslims would take the public outcry and handle the slew of cases that await him when he returns to the city in the next few days.
Police sitting on arrest warrants against Owaisis
A case (crime number 130/2005) with severe charges including sections 147, 153-A, 353, 290, 295-A, 186, 341, 504 and 506 of the IPC and section 7 of Criminal Law Amendment Act was booked against Akbaruddin and Asaduddin Owaisi along with other MIM leaders at Patancheru police station in April 2005 for obstructing revenue officials from carrying out demolition of a place of worship to facilitate road extension at Muttangi village. Akbaruddin and others were accused of hurling abuses at then Medak district collector Anil Kumar Singhal.In this case, Patancheru police have filed a chargesheet and the trial is on. But as both the Owaisi brothers did not appear before court, non-bailable warrants were issued against them two years ago, but till date, the cops did not even execute the warrants. “We tried on several occasions to execute the warrants but the legislators were never available at their house,” was the lame reasoning given by a Patancheru police official.
In 2006, Hussaini Alam police booked cases against several MIM leaders including Akbaruddin Owaisi (crime number 27/2006) under sections 147, 427, 109, 114, 295, 153-A r/w 149 of the IPC, sections 3 &4 of PDPP Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act in relation to violence pertaining to protests over anti-Islam cartoons published in a Danish newspaper. Akbar was charged with inciting the mob to resort to violence through provocative utterances. However, the MIM leaders including Akbar secured anticipatory bail and never spent a single day in jail. Referring to the case, Hussaini Alam inspector J Venkat Reddy said the chargesheet was filed in 2007 and trial began only recently.
A case was again booked against Akbar under section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at Punjagutta police station in 2007 for threatening Bangladeshi writer Tasleema Nasreen to never return to Hyderabad again. Givingthe status of this case, Punjagutta inspector Tirupati Rao said the chargesheet has been filed and the case is pending trial. Recently, based on SC directions, in October 2012 Chandrayangutta police booked a murder case against Akbaruddin and others in relation to the murder of Ibrahim Bin Yousuf Yafai, who was shot dead at Barkas in April 2011.
So, given this record, people are apprehensive about any proactive police action even in the Adilabad and Nizamabad cases.
Several days after the incendiary speeches made by MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi in Adilabad and Nizambad districts, the state cops went into an overdrive on Friday and slapped notices at his Banjara Hills residence seeking his appearance and also registered another case of promoting enmity between classes even as a local court referred a complaint against the MLA to the cops for investigation.
The two notices, served on the Road No 12 Banjara Hills residence of Akbaruddin by Adilabad and Nizambad police, stated: “Under 41 (a) of CrPC, in exercise of power conferred on me, I hearby inform you that during the investigation of crime 1/2013 under Sections 153 A and 121 of IPC registered in Nirmal town, it is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you about the facts and circumstances. Hence, you’re hereby directed to appear before me.’’
It was signed by the respective investigative officers of the two districts. While Adilabad police directed Akbaruddin to appear before investigating officer A Raghu at Nirmal Rural police station on January 7, Nizambad police summoned the MLA before IO Mohammed Asif of II Town police station on January 8.
In the meantime, Osmania University police on Friday registered an FIR against Akbaruddin on the directions of the IVth additional chief metropolitan magistrate based on a petition by S Venkatesh Goud. The MLA was booked for promoting enmity between classes. OU police said that a notice will be served on Akbaruddin shortly to make an appearance before them. Meanwhile, II Metropolitan Magistrate in Ranga Reddy district directed the LB Nagar police to register a First Information Report (FIR) against Akbaruddin following a private petition moved by S Janardhan Goud, an advocate.”I filed the petition against Akbaruddin Owaisi for his inflammatory speech against Hindu religion. The court directed the LB Nagar police to investigate and file a report by February 2,” Janardhan said.
Police are expected to register the FIR under Sections 121 (waging war against nation), 153 A (promoting enmity between classes), 285 (hurting religious sentiments) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).Meanwhile, controversial Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Mangalhat corporator Raja Singh, who was earlier involved in several communal related cases, moved a private petition against MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in XVI Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Nampally court, for his hate speech in Nizamabad and Adilabad. The magistrate will record Raja Singh’s statement on January 7, in the court. In another case, a BJP leader Satish Agarwal moved a petition in Malkajgiri court seeking the filing of a criminal case against both Akbaruddin and MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi. `Akbaruddin is making the defamatory statements against Hindu religion at the behest of the conspiracy hatched by Asaduddin,'' Satish said.
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