Hate speech: Akbaruddin Owaisi sent to 5-day police custody

Hyderabad: All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi has been sent to five-day police custody starting Saturday. Owaisi will be produced before the court on January 17. Owaisi, who is currently in judicial remand, was sent to police custody by a court in Nirmal where a case for delivering a alleged hate speech has been registered against him.

Owaisi has been booked under Sec 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and Sec 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of IPC. The MIM legislator has also been booked under Section 121 (waging or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) of IPC.

The MIM had on Thursday said the allegations of hate speech levelled against Owaisi were "baseless" and the matter would be decided in the courts. The entire episode is a conspiracy hatched against the Hyderabad-based party by Andhra Pradesh's Congress government in connivance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said Asaduddin Owaisi, the MIM president and brother of the jailed legislator.

MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, accused of delivering a hate speech, will be produced before the court on January 17.

MIM supporters clashed with policemen and media persons in Old City of Hyderabad on Friday. Police had to resort to firing tear gas shells to disperse the mob and bring the situation under control. On Wednesday, Owaisi's aides had targeted the media, attacking CNN-IBN's van in Adilabad.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)