There is more trouble for Majlis leader Akbaruddin Owaisi currently lodged in the Adilabad jail for his alleged hate speech. The second Metropolitan Magistrate Court of L.B. Nagar of Ranga Reddy district took cognisance of the complaint filed by a person named B. Eshwar Yadav against the MLA in connection with his speech and issued summons to appear before it on February 4.
On Thursday, it directed the Meerpet police to serve summons on Owaisi in the presence of the jail superintendent. The petitioner said he had watched a video online where Owaisi had allegedly made an inflammatory speech against a particular community and requested the court to take up the matter under Section 298 (uttering words with deliberate intent to hurt religious feelings) of Indian Penal Code.
The Osmania University police are also planning to file a prisoner’s transit warrant in a local court here to question Owaisi about a criminal case registered against him following a private complaint.
A criminal case under section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion etc) was registered against him after the Fourth Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court here gave direction responding to a complaint lodged by an advocate, S. Venkatesh Goud.
The OU police had already issued a notice to him to appear before them for recording his statement. Notices were also issued to four TV news channels -- TV4, MQTV, Ruby TV and Urdu TV -- which had reportedly telecast Owaisi’s speeches. The reporters of the channels were directed to appear before the police along with the VCDs of the speeches recorded by the channels. “After gathering material evidence, we will file petition in the local court to bring the MLA to city for questioning,” the police said. In a related development, Dargah-Jihad-O- Shahadat represented by Salahuddin filed a complaint with the Charminar police seeking action against Vishwa Hindu Parishad international working president Praveen Togadia for allegedly making a hate speech. Police said the petition was being inquired into and a case would be booked after taking legal opinion.
Togadia’s speech
The complainant furnished a newspaper cutting and a video CD pertaining to the speech delivered by Mr. Togadia on December 11 last year. “Mr. Salahuddin was not sure where the speech was delivered,” Charminar ACP M. Rammohan Rao said.
