Akbaruddin Owaisi booked in one more 'hate speech' case

Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, accused of sedition for his "hate speech", was on Monday booked in a similar case, police said.

Based on a complaint filed by city corporator Raja Singh, a local court had last month directed the Mangalhat police to investigate a speech made by Akbaruddin at Nanded in Maharashtra in 2012, which allegedly targeted a particular community.

Following a direction to probe the Nanded speech and file a report by February 11, the police, accordingly, booked a case against Akbaruddin under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, a senior police officer said.

Akbaruddin, was suo-motu booked by the Nirmal police in Adilabad and Nizamabad II town police, besides by the Osmania University police in Hyderabad and other parts of Andhra Pradesh for allegedly delivering provocative speeches against a particular community at Nizamabad and Nirmal in December last year.

Akbaruddin, MIM's floor leader in state assembly, was arrested by Nirmal police from Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad on January 8 and is lodged in Adilabad district jail after being sent to judicial remand from January 9.

The court of judicial first class magistrate in Nirmal town of Adilabad district, earlier fixed February 5 as the date for recording the voice of Akbaruddin, which will be done in the open court in the presence of experts from the forensic science laboratory.