Asaduddin Owaisi criticises Hyderabad police’s weak intelligence following communal incidents

The Telangana government and senior police officers must introspect why communal incidents aimed at creating unrest were repeatedly occurring at night in Hyderabad, said All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi, and alleged that the city’s police intelligence network was weak.

Addressing the media, the Hyderabad MP said that a pattern had emerged over the last three or four years, where several such incidents were reported at night. He cautioned that communal forces must not be allowed any opportunity to exploit such situations. Hyderabad, he said, was a national brand and a growing economic hub, with the government projecting a Future City. “Such incidents should not happen,” he said, stressing that law and order was not a political issue but one directly affecting the safety of ordinary citizens.

Referring to a recent incident that led to police lathi charge, Mr. Owaisi said several innocent people were injured, including those merely crossing the road or heading to social functions. He argued that effective policing lay in prevention, and called for a system that could avert such situations rather than respond after the act.

Responding to a question over the Telangana government seeking to resume a 50-acre land parcel allotted to the Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), he said his party would oppose any attempt to divert University land to private entities for development, maintaining that land allotted to the university must remain with it.

Mr. Owaisi warned the MANUU administration against diluting its Urdu mandate in favour of English, stating that the university was established under an Act specifically to promote Urdu and must remain true to that purpose. Responding to criticism over the AIMIM’s alleged inaction in protecting land allotted to the university, he recalled that when UPA was in power, he had facilitated the opening of MANUU school in Farooqnagar. He also cited the construction of an ₹8 crore building on police land with permission from then united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. He urged the public to go through parliamentary records and see for themselves as to how Mr. Owaisi had supported the cause of MANUU.

“Recently, in the last Parliament session, I talked about Urdu language and I emphasised on the need to strengthen MANUU,” he said.