UP polls: Owaisi says gunshots fired at his car on way back from Meerut, 1 held

Asaduddin Owaisi said he had to leave the spot in another vehicle after the car he was travelling in got punctured due to the gun fire.

Hyderabad MP and leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday said unidentified miscreants fired gunshots at his vehicle near the Chhajarsi toll plaza in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, while adding nobody suffered any injury and everyone was safe.

“I was leaving for Delhi after a poll event in Kithaur, Meerut (UP) when the incident happened,” Asaduddin Owaisi said.

Owaisi said he had to leave the spot in another vehicle after the car he was travelling in got punctured due to the gun fire.

Later, Owaisi said one person was arrested. “Police have informed me that weapons have been recovered and one shooter has been taken into custody,” he said. He also sought an independent probe into the matter.

“Some time ago my car was fired at the Chhijarsi toll gate. 4 rounds were fired. There were 3 to 4 people, all of them ran away and left their weapons there. My car got punctured, but I got out in another car and left. We are all safe. Alhamdulillah,” Owaisi said in a tweet in Hindi, sharing an image of his damaged vehicle.

“I request the Election Commission to order an independent inquiry into this shooting incident. It is the responsibility of the UP government and Modi government to conduct an independent inquiry. I will also meet the Lok Sabha Speaker on this matter,” he said.

WATCH | Shots fired at AIMIM chief Owaisi's vehicles in UP, shooter caught; Demands probe by EC

Police said another suspect was on the run. “One person apprehended. He's being questioned, weapon recovered from him. His accomplice managed to flee, search operation is underway for him. We'll update you when more facts come to the fore. Nobody was injured so far. We are checking the CCTV footage,” said Hapur superintendent of police Deepak Bhuker.

On January 22, Owaisi said the upcoming Assembly polls will be contested under a new political front, 'Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha', a pre-poll alliance of his outfit, Jan Adhikaar Party of former UP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha and a few other regional outfits in the state.

“If voted to power, the morcha will give two chief ministers to the state. Of this, one will be from the OBC community, while the other will be from the Dalit community. Apart from this, three deputy chief ministers will be made, of whom one will be a Muslim,” Owaisi had said while announcing the front.