MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi Gives Press Conference On Mecca Masjid Report
MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi with Detailed Reports of Mecca Masjid Bomb Blast and Police Firing at a Press Conference in MiM Headquarters in Hyderabad.
HYDERABAD: MiM Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday invited Director-General of Police M. A. Basith to a debate to disprove that the police had fired rubber bullets to control the mob after the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid on May 18.
"I will challenge Mr. Basith or Additional DG (Law and Order) A. K. Mohanty to show at least 10 rubber bullets with the city police. I am ready for a debate to prove that they never shot rubber bullets for the simple reason that they don't have any," he told reporters here.
Owaisi strongly contested the contention in the report that it gave statutory warnings before opening fire and said that the Very High Frequency (VHF) sets that were used at that time should be seized along with its recorded messages.The police did not use batons to disperse the mob nor did it resort to firing in the air before killing people with direct hits, he claimed."It was genocide. Police fired from self loading rifles, which are generally used against Naxalites, to kill innocent youths," he said.
He strongly disputed the DGP's claims that rubber bullets were fired at the mob and added the autopsy report had confirmed that injuries were caused by bullets fired from self-loading rifles.
Owaisi also pointed out that police killed two Muslim youths in encounters a day after the bomb blast at Sai Baba temple in Hyderabad in 2003.
Owaisi demanded immediate suspension of police officers for ‘unprovoked’ firing on protestors after the blast. "Why the government is not suspending guilty officers," he said and warned the Congress government that it would lose the support of Muslim community if it failed to act against such police officers.
Mr. Owaisi termed as "a bunch of contradictions" the two reports submitted to the State Government on the bomb blast and the firing, copies of which were released to the media.He said there were contradictions in the versions of Falaknuma Inspector P. Sudhakar and the DCP on the circumstances that led to the firing. He said the role of Bajrang Dal and other Hindu extremist groups must also be probed.
The MP sought to know why the police had not opened fire on activists of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi when they set on fire RTC buses and a train compartment, besides CPI(M) workers for their land struggle agitation. If terrorists could easily target Mecca Masjid, then Hyderabadis were not safe, he said.
"I will challenge Mr. Basith or Additional DG (Law and Order) A. K. Mohanty to show at least 10 rubber bullets with the city police. I am ready for a debate to prove that they never shot rubber bullets for the simple reason that they don't have any," he told reporters here.
Owaisi strongly contested the contention in the report that it gave statutory warnings before opening fire and said that the Very High Frequency (VHF) sets that were used at that time should be seized along with its recorded messages.The police did not use batons to disperse the mob nor did it resort to firing in the air before killing people with direct hits, he claimed."It was genocide. Police fired from self loading rifles, which are generally used against Naxalites, to kill innocent youths," he said.
He strongly disputed the DGP's claims that rubber bullets were fired at the mob and added the autopsy report had confirmed that injuries were caused by bullets fired from self-loading rifles.
Owaisi also pointed out that police killed two Muslim youths in encounters a day after the bomb blast at Sai Baba temple in Hyderabad in 2003.
Owaisi demanded immediate suspension of police officers for ‘unprovoked’ firing on protestors after the blast. "Why the government is not suspending guilty officers," he said and warned the Congress government that it would lose the support of Muslim community if it failed to act against such police officers.
Mr. Owaisi termed as "a bunch of contradictions" the two reports submitted to the State Government on the bomb blast and the firing, copies of which were released to the media.He said there were contradictions in the versions of Falaknuma Inspector P. Sudhakar and the DCP on the circumstances that led to the firing. He said the role of Bajrang Dal and other Hindu extremist groups must also be probed.
The MP sought to know why the police had not opened fire on activists of the Madiga Reservation Porata Samithi when they set on fire RTC buses and a train compartment, besides CPI(M) workers for their land struggle agitation. If terrorists could easily target Mecca Masjid, then Hyderabadis were not safe, he said.
