Hyderabad:
Akbaruddin Owaisi, who faces a slew of police cases for recent hate speeches, has been taken to the Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for medical check-up to determine whether he is fit for questioning. Mr Owaisi was scheduled to meet with the police on Monday, but claimed he was unwell and sought exemption for four days.
The police did not take his word for the state of his health and sent the investigating officer to his home. The investigating officer opined he was fit to appear before the police but since Mr Owaisi complained of pain, he recommended that Mr Owaisi should be examined by government doctors.
Mr Owaisi is a state legislator and belongs to the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) party in Andhra Pradesh, headed by his brother, Asaduddin, a parliamentarian.
He also appealed to the Andhra Pradesh High Court to cancel the cases filed against him for speeches delivered last month in a town named Nirmal in Adilabad, and in the Nizamabad district. Both were recorded on camera and broadcast on local channels partly owned by other members of Mr Owaisi's party. He has been summoned by the Nizamabad police today.
The police has accused him of waging war against the state and of inciting communal hatred. The Director General of the state police, Dinesh Reddy said, "Due process of law is being followed. After investigation, if it is thought fit, he will be arrested.''
The speech in Adilabad, delivered on December 24, has been viewed more than 80,000 times on YouTube.
For weeks after Mr Owaisi's speeches, the police and government took no action against him. Complaints by private citizens, some of them affiliated to the Opposition BJP, triggered some of the cases he now faces.