Hyderabad : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi has been arrested on the charge of not cooperating with the police in connection with the hate speech case against him. Sources say Owaisi was arrested as the police officers were not convinced by the MLA’s explanation that he had gone to London for medical treatment.

Owaisi has been taken to Nirmal in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh where an FIR has been registered against him for allegedly delivering a hate speech. Owaisi’s lawyer Shafiuddin Khan accused the police of arresting the MLA arbitrarily. He claimed that the MLA was not well and could collapse due the stress after his arrest.

“Akbaruddin Owaisi never wanted to evade the law, he had been cooperating. Owaisi had not eaten food since morning, he was not even given the medical report. We have not been informed by the police where Owaisi has been taken. Owaisi was not allowed to go to his house also, Owaisi had gone to London for re-evaluation and medical check-up,” said Khan. “We have maintained total cooperation. Police are not sure what they want to do. Owaisi has developed acute pain and hernia due to which he is suffering,” he added.

Two FIRs were registered suo motu at Adilabad and Nizamabad districts while a third case was registered by Osmania University police, following a court directive after Owaisi allegedly used inflammatory language against a particular community in December 2012.

Owaisi has been booked under Sec 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion) and Sec 295A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of IPC. The MIM legislator has also been booked under Sec 121 (waging or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) of IPC.