Asad booked for attack on Cong MLC

Mirchowk police register cases against the MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi under various sections of IPC for his alleged involvement in the assault

Hyderabad: After the activists of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) went on a rampage and attacked the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and the Congress leaders, MIM chief and Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi has been booked for his alleged involvement in the attack on Congress MLC Shabbir Ali during the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections here, according to the police.

Cases against Owaisi and others were registered late on Tuesday night under relevant sections of IPC. Ali, Leader of Opposition in Telangana Legislative Council, had on Tuesday filed a case against Owaisi and his followers for allegedly attacking him in Mirchowk area here.

“Mirchowk Police have registered a case against Owaisi and others under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 506 r/w 149 of IPC. The case is being probed and action will be taken against responsible persons as per facts and law,” a senior police official said.

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) president Uttam Kumar Reddy and Ali alleged that MIM workers led by Owaisi attacked them. A vehicle belonging to Uttam Kumar was also damaged by miscreants. Ali alleged that he sustained injuries below his right eye and on other body parts.

Mirchowk Police Inspector Y Yadgir Reddy told reporters that they had received a similar complaint from an Urdu daily reporter alleging that Owaisi and some of his followers attacked him on Tuesday. The police have registered a case and a probe is underway. MIM and Congress workers clashed during the GHMC polls and the police had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse them.

The trouble started when Congress candidate Mohammad Gouse and MIM MLA Pasha Quadri engaged in a confrontation in Mirchowk in Old City following which they were taken into police custody briefly. Uttam Kumar and Ali then reached Mirchowk police station, where Gouse was kept in custody.

Owaisi also reached there at the same time which escalated tension between the two groups. According to the police, they had to resort to mild lathi- charge to disperse the agitated party workers when they, led by their respective leaders, gathered at the police station.

On Wednesday, Shabbir Ali also wrote a letter to the Telangana Intelligence Wing, stating that his gunmen were spectators during the incident and did not even bother to stop the attackers.