Hyderabad, April 30: In a sensational attack, Chandrayangutta MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi was fired at 5 times this morning when he was undertaking a padayatra in Barkas.
The MLA was rushed to the Owaisi Hospital in Santoshnagar, and may be shifted to Care Hospital in Nampally. His condition is stated to be out of danger.
The Malakpet MLA Ahmed Bin Abdullah Balala was also injured in the incident.
The police reported that the MLA was first stabbed by a group of miscreants before being shot at 5 times (4 of which entered his body). The suspect is former MBT (Majlis Bachao Tehreek) party worker Mohammed Pehalwaan, who has been involved in altercations with Owaisi in the past, and who has an ongoing dispute involving some government graveyard land in Barkas with Owaisi.
Owaisi’s gunman fired at Irfan, the brother-in-law of Pehelwaan. Ibrahim died later at Yashoda Hospital. The condition of 2 other supporters of Pehelwaan is said to be critical.
Pehelwan had apparently warned Owaisi not to campaign in the Barkas area, since the majority of the Muslim population there consists of Arab Muslims.
The Old City is expectedly on a boil, and MIM party workers have congregated in huge numbers at the Owaisi Hospital. 20,000 police troops have been amassed, and all police on leave have been asked to report for duty. Section 144 has been imposed in the vicinity of the hospital.
MIM workers went on a rampage in Asif Baba Nagar of Chandrayanagutta, breaking the windows of buses etc.
–Agencies