Akbaruddin Owaisi identifies Mohd Pahelwan

Hyderabad: MIM legislator Akbaruddin Owaisi on Tuesday appeared before the VII Metropolitan Sessions Judge to record his statement in the attack on him at Barkas in 2011. Mr Akbaruddin came face-to-face with his alleged attackers and said that they had attacked him with knives and daggers and he could not use his licensed weapon at that time as it was locked.

Mr Owaisi, an MIM legislator from Chandrayanagutta and the party’s floor leader in the Assembly, urged the court to release his licensed pistol which was seized by investigating officers. Security at the court was beefed up fearing a clash between MIM activists and associates of prime accused Mohammed Pahelwan.

Around 100 personnel were deployed at the court premises, a much stronger deployment compared to instances where terror suspects were produced in the court. Mr Owaisi identified six of the 13 accused. Asked how he could identify Mohammed Pahelwan, he said that he was earlier told that Pahelwan was a rowdy sheeter and landgrabber in Chandrayanagutta. He identified Hasan Yafai, who drove towards him on a white scooter, hiding a dagger under his clothes and attacked him first.