Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Monday that it is investigating the February 3 attack on Hyderabad MP and All India Parliament (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi and asked the latter Accept the security guarantees provided by the Union government.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha during the parliamentary budget session, Shah said: “There are no leads or reports of such attacks. Upon on-site inspection, two people were arrested and police seized a car and two pistols. The forensic team is investigating the incident. The two men are being questioned by the Uttar Pradesh police.”

“The Home Ministry immediately received the report from the Uttar Pradesh government,” Shah added.

According to the government’s assessment, Owaisi still faces a threat, the federal interior minister said, adding that he had been provided with bulletproof vehicles and Class Z security measures.

“However, based on his own verbal information, he (Owassi) refused to accept it. I asked him to accept the security guarantees given to him by the central government,” Shah further said in the upper house of parliament.

Last week, the car of the head of AIMIM in Hapur, western Uttar Pradesh, was shot. Owaisi returned to Delhi after campaigning for the state’s parliamentary elections. No one was injured in the attack, the congressman tweeted hours after the attack.

The two accused of attempted murder have been identified as Sachin and Shubham – residents of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Saharanpur, respectively. Police said two handguns were seized from the attacker’s property and a Maruti Alto car was also seized in connection with the case.

A day after the incident, the centre offered Owassi a “Z” category of security, but the latter refused and asked the Narendra Modi-led government to make him an “A” “equal” to all class citizen.

“I don’t want Z security. I want to be an A citizen, like all of you. Why isn’t UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) invoked against the person who shot me?  …I want to live, Suffice to say. When the poor are safe, my life is safe. I will not be afraid of those who shoot at my car,” Owaisi said in the Lok Sabha last week.

Owaisi also asked the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct an independent investigation into the attack.

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times