Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that a government assessment has found that All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi still faces security threat and urged him to accept Centre’s Z category security offered to him after a recent attack on his convoy.
The Hyderabad MP’s car had come under attack in Hapur on February 3 when he was returning to Delhi after attending election-related events in western Uttar Pradesh. While gunshots were fired at the vehicle, nobody was injured.
Making a statement in Rajya Sabha over the firing incident, Shah said, “Two unidentified people had fired on the carcade. He came out safe but there were three bullet marks on the lower portion of his vehicle. The incident was witnessed by three witnesses. An FIR has been registered.”
Shah said that Owaisi had no prescheduled event in Hapur district and that no information about his movement was sent to District Control Room beforehand. “After the incident, he reached Delhi safely,” he said.
“Taking quick action two accused were arrested and two unauthorised pistols and an Alto car were recovered from them. The forensic team is doing a minute investigation of the car and the incident site, evidence is being collected,” he added.
The Home Minister said that they offered Owaisi security after the attack, but the AIMIM president refused to take the CRPF protection.
“The Union Home Ministry took a report from state government immediately. On basis of earlier inputs from central security agencies, the Centre had ordered to provide him security. But due to his unwillingness to avail security, Delhi and Telangana Police’s efforts to provide him security didn’t succeed,” Shah said.
“The threat to Owaisi has been reassessed and a bulletproof vehicle and Z category security has been given to him. But, as per verbal information by himself, he has refused to accept it. I request him to accept the security given to him by the Central government,” he added.
Days after the incident, two persons were arrested on charges of the attempt to murder charge and arms were also recovered.
