Majlis MLA shot and injured in Hyderabad

Majlis MLA shot and injured in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Akbaruddin Owaisi, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator from Chandrayangutta here, was injured when his rivals attacked him with knives and shot at him near Barkas, a stronghold of his party, sparking tension in the old city area of Hyderabad on Saturday. Mr. Owaisi was declared out of danger after he underwent a major surgery.A youth, later identified as Ibrahim Yafai (26), said to be an assailant, was killed and two others were injured when the gunman of another MIM legislator, Mohammed Bin Balala, opened fire as the attack took place, around 11.15 a.m. Mr. Balala too suffered a bullet wound while trying to save Mr. Owaisi, but his condition was stable, police said.Large contingents of police moved into the old city, a bastion of the MIM, as thousands of youth took to the streets and began attacking vehicles near the Owaisi Hospital, where Mr. Owaisi was undergoing treatment. Tension eased only after police declared that Mr. Owaisi was out of danger. The motive appears to be the strident opposition of the Majlis to alleged land-grabbing activities by Mohammed ‘ Pehalwan.'Mr. Owaisi, Mr. Balala, party legislator from Malakpet, and some party workers were near their office when a group rushed towards them and began arguing with them. “They attacked Mr. Owaisi with knives, inflicting bleeding wounds, while one of them shot him from close range,” police maintained. They said doctors removed two bullets from the injured Owaisi, while one more was still embedded in the abdomen.