MIM Stages Protest at Andhra Pradesh Police Headquarters

MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi Speaking to Press Reporters in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), a party with a large following in Hyderabad, Sunday staged a protest in front of the Andhra Pradesh police headquarters demanding immediate suspension of the police officials responsible for firing after Friday's bomb blast at the historic Mecca Masjid.

Led by party leader and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, MIM activists staged a sit-in in front of the office of Director General of Police (DGP) in Saifabad, throwing traffic out of gear in the heart of the city.

Tension prevailed for some time as the activists, who were carrying black and green flags, tried to barge into the high-security office, abutting the state legislative assembly building. They shouted slogans against police and set afire an effigy DGP M.A. Basith.

The MiM MP demanded that the government immediately order an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the bomb blast and the police firing and suspension of officials for opening fire. The 17th-century Mecca Masjid, near the city's famous landmark of Charminar, was targeted with a powerful blast Friday afternoon. Soon after that, police had fired on a protesting mob to quell violence.

Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy said Saturday that 11 people were killed in the mosque blast, while five died in police firing.On Saturday night, the police chief had clarified that nine people died in the blast and five in firing.

Owaisi, however, said 10 people died in police firing and seven in the blast. Basith had initially denied police firing and claimed that only rubber bullets were fired. During a meeting called by Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil here Saturday, the DGP had defended the police action.'We want an immediate CBI inquiry and immediate suspension of guilty officers and if these demands are not met then there is no difference between the governments of Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat,' said Owaisi, whose party is an ally of the ruling Congress.

The firing was unprovoked. Some policemen deliberately targeted protesters and shot them in their chests,' alleged the MP.

Akbaruddin Owaisi MiM Floor Leader in the state assembly, and other party leaders also participated in the protest. Hyderabad, which is a city's five million muslim population, is a traditional stronghold of MIM. The party won all the five assembly seats in the old city and the Hyderabad Lok Sabha seat in the 2004 elections.

MIM Asks AP Govt For CBI Probe Into Fake Encounters

MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi addressing Mediapersons on Fake Encounter Case in MiM Headquarters Darussalam in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad, May 3: All India Majlis-e-Ettehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Leader and MP Asaduddin Owaisi today demanded the state government to order CBI inquiry into the alleged involvement of state police officials in the Gujarat fake encounter case.Addressing the press here, Mr Owaisi alleged City Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Raji Trivedi and the then City Police Commissioner Mohanty were involved in the case and said their role required investigation.

He said Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy should not try to protect the state policemen involved in the encounters. The Chief Minister should order a CBI probe to avoid problems later. He reminded YSR that the Muslims had deserted Chandrababu Naidu in the 2004 elections because he had become insensitive to their security and moved too close to the BJP. A similar situation could stare the Congress in the face, if immediate measures are not taken to address the growing concerns of the community. "Don't shield the black sheep in the police. Such an attempt would hurt your image," Owaisi said.

He said that the top brass of the Hyderabad police in November 2005 must have certainly known about the goings on in the city at that time. Chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi stands for the destruction of the secular fabric of the country. Why should Y S Rajasekhara Reddy try to cover up something that would help Modi's government and damage his own, he asked. "The Muslims will not care for the five per cent reservation or any other concession that the state government plans to dole out if they feel that there is no safety for their lives under the Congress rule," Owaisi said.

Alleging a conspiracy on the part of the Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh Police in the killing of Sohrabuddin and his wife Kausar Bi in a fake encounter because of 'hatred and for commercial gains,' Mr Owaisi said there was a need for an open debate at national level on the issue and it was high time to frame proper regulations for handing over people to the other state police.He said that the top brass of the Hyderabad police in November 2005 must have certainly known about the goings on in the city at that time. Chief minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi stands for the destruction of the secular fabric of the country. Why should Y S Rajasekhara Reddy try to cover up something that would help Modi's government and damage his own, he asked.

MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that the inquiry should be divided into two parts. One should start from November 2005 when the conspiracy to eliminate Sheikh was hatched. The second part of the probe should cover the nexus between the Gujarat police and a section of the Andhra Pradesh police during the period between 2002 till the present during which time a number of Hyderabadi Muslims were killed in Hyderabad in fake encounters and several of them were also handed over to Gujarat Police, he said.

He asked Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N Chandrababu Naidu, who claimed to be a champion of Muslims in the state, to make a statement on the fake encounters.

MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi seeks probe into Fake Encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh

New Delhi,April 28 : MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, on Saturday urged PM Manmohan Singh to order an investigation into the role of AP police in the `fake encounter' of Sohrabuddin Sheikh after the Godhra Carnage and said the Gujarat Govt have encountered more than 20 Civillans mostly who belonged to the Minority Community.

While submitting a memorandum to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after a dharna in front of the Gandhi statue on Parliament premises, Owaisi said there are reports of AP police officers providing logistic support to a police team from Gujarat in the tracing, kidnapping and killing of Sheikh.

The city police even provided vehicles with false number plates to the Gujarat team, he added. Owaisi and about 15 MPs including Moulana Mehmood Madni MP ,Shafeequ Rahamn Baraq MP ,PDP MP Mehbooba Mufti and CLP Deputy Leader Madhusudhan Mistry and MP Sandeep Dikshit asked the Centre to handover the enquiry to the CBI.

MiM MP Asaduddin Owaisi raised the issue in Parliament also in his Speech on Matters of Internal Security