Owaisi Attacked: Behind Shooter's BJP 'Links' & Hindutva Obsession With AIMIM MP

The alleged attacker Sachin Sharma claims to be a BJP member and has shared several pictures with BJP leaders.

(UP Police has arrested Sachin Sharma for shooting at Asaduddin Owaisi's vehicle)

(Deeksha Malhotra/The Quint)

Sachin Sharma, the person who has been arrested for allegedly firing at the vehicle of AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, has claimed that he's a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

He had put up a picture of what he claimed to be his BJP membership slip.

The slip lists his membership number as 1012334171.

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

Pandit's Facebook profile is under the name of 'Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu', and on that he has posted several pictures of himself with BJP leaders like Gautam Buddhh Nagar MP and former minister Mahesh Sharma, MP Satyapal Singh, former UP BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai, and MLC Shrichand Sharma.

"He is what we can call a Kattar (fanatical) Hindu. He watched videos on social media platforms and got radicalised."

Additional Superintendent of Police (Hapur) Sarvesh Mishra to The Quint.

The attack took place at the Chhajarsi toll plaza near Pilukhwa in Hapur district.

The Uttar Pradesh Police is yet to respond to Sachin's claims of being a member of the BJP.

"There was a case registered against him under Section 307 (attempt to murder) in 2021," ASP Mishra said.

Less is known regarding the other accused, Shubham.

"He came in contact with Sachin. He doesn't have a criminal record," ASP Mishra said.

Shubham had surrendered to the Ghaziabad Police.

Providing more information about Shubham, SP for Saharanpur Rural Atul Sharma said, "Shubham, son of Pramod, is from Sampla Begumpur in Nakur, Saharanpur. His parents have died and he has one sister in the NCR. He rarely comes to his village. We are trying to find out more details."

SACHIN PANDIT'S ALLEGED BJP CONNECTIONS

Here are some of Sachin's pictures with BJP leaders that he has shared on his Facebook profile.

With BJP MP Mahesh Sharma:

With BJP MP Mahesh Sharma

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

2. With BJP MP Satyapal Singh:

With BJP MP Satyapal Singh

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

3. With former UP BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai:

With former UP BJP president Laxmikant Bajpai

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

4. Selfie at Amit Shah's public meeting:

At Amit Shah's meeting 

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

5. Among non-BJP leaders, he has a picture with TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu.

Picture with TDP supremo N Chandrababu Naidu

Deshbhakt Sachin Hindu Facebook Profile

A few media organisations also reported that Sachin had pictures with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, but so far, no such pictures have surfaced in the public domain.

On his Facebook profile, Sachin had also shared a video of Jamia shooter Ram Bhakt Gopal on 31 January 2020.

On 1 June 2018, he had posted a video featuring Owaisi and his brother Akbaruddin Owaisi's pictures saying, "Those who don't like Hindus, should go to Pakistan."

RIGHT-WINGERS' OBSESSION WITH OWAISI

The police has revealed that Sachin did have an obsession with Owaisi and tracked many of his events in Uttar Pradesh.

"Sachin used to track the social media of AIMIM office bearers and attend their events," ASP Sarvesh Mishra told The Quint.

The police asserted that this could have been Sachin's way of doing a recce before the attack on Owaisi.

Hindutva supporters' obsession with Owaisi is well known and the accused, Sachin doesn't seem to have been an exceptional case.

In a recent Dharam Sansad organised at Prayagraj, a number of speakers attacked Owaisi and incited violence against him. One of the speakers hurled abuses at the Hyderabad MP and said that he should be thrown in jail and beaten up.

The Hindutva hatred against Owaisi has entered popular culture as well. There's a Bhojpuri film starring BJP MP Ravi Kissen called Dharam Ke Saudagar, in which there's a villain called "Owaisi", who with the backing of Pakistan's ISI, plots to assassinate a Hindu leader called "Yogi Adityaraj". The film shows "Owaisi" being shot dead in an encounter in the end. The film has over six million views on YouTube.

The character 'Owaisi' in Bhojpuri film Dharm ke Saudagar. 

Screenshot from YouTube

WHAT EXPLAINS THIS OBSESSION?

The Uttar Pradesh Police has claimed that Sachin was radicalised by watching videos on the AIMIM social media channel, especially on the party's views on the Ram Mandir.

Now, Owaisi's view on the Ram Mandir and much of his speeches are very much within constitutional boundaries. So, it may not be a sufficient explanation for the attack on him or for the broader Hindutva obsession with the AIMIM chief.

This issue is that Owaisi represents an ideal villain in the Hindutva imagination. He is a Muslim politician who visibly asserts his Muslim identity — in his attire, speeches, and vocabulary.

It is for this reason that he was singled out for heckling by BJP MPs during the swearing-in for the new members of Parliament in 2019.

The only other set of MPs heckled belonged to the Trinamool Congress, because at that time, the BJP and Mamata Banerjee were having a tussle over 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans being chanted at her event.

The presence of an Owaisi in Parliament and in the political sphere is an eyesore for the Hindutva.

"How can such a person be an MP?" is an assertion one hears often from Hindutva supporters.

Because in their view, Owaisi represents everything that shouldn't be allowed in the public sphere — an assertive, articulate, and visibly religious Muslim.

In that sense, it is not a very different mentality from those prohibiting girls wearing Hijab from going to a college in Udupi.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Uttar Pradesh Police may have been quick in nabbing accused Sachin and his associate, who surrendered. But it is not clear whether Sachin's political links will be explored.

It is also not clear if we would even know if Sachin and Shubham acted on their own or under someone's orders.

Speaking in Parliament, Owaisi said, "My life is not any more important than an Akhlaq or Pehlu Khan. Don't provide me Z-category security, make me an A-category citizen."

Despite their political differences, several parties have condemned the attack on Owaisi. The Samajwadi Party condemned it on their official Twitter handle as did Azad Samaj Party leader Chandrashekhar Azad 'Ravan', JKPDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, TRS leader KT Rama Rao, and All India United Democratic Front chief Badruddin Ajmal.

NCP leader and Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik also condemned it during a press conference.

Meanwhile, several parties have remained silent on the attack so far.

For Owaisi, it is a strange position to be in. On one hand, he is at the receiving end of violence from the Hindutva forces, on the other hand, he is accused of being BJP's B-team by a section of 'secular' parties.

(With inputs from Piyush Rai.)