MIM leader Akbar Owaisi arrested

<p>Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday arrested Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator, Akbaruddin Owaisi, against whom multiple cases have been filed at various places in the state for his alleged ‘hate speech’.

Owaisi, who returned from London on Monday, was taken to Gandhi Hospital here today for medical examinations after he sought more time to appear before the police citing ill-health.

After the medical examinations, the MIM leader was taken into custody from the government hospital premises as he was found fit enough to face police inquiry. Thereafter, he was taken to Nirmal in Adilabad district where he had reportedly made the provocative speech.

Meanwhile, Owaisi had approached the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking to quash all the cases registered against him. His petition will come up for hearing on Wednesday.

As a precautionary measure, even before Owaisi was arrested, the police had beefed up the security in Hyderabad and various communally sensitive places in the state, including Nirmal.