'We Condemn the Killing': Asaduddin Owaisi on Murder of Dalit Man in Hyderabad

While addressing people in Hyderabad, AIMIM chief condemned the murder of the Dalit youth.

Asaduddin Owaisi speaks on Hyderabad Killing and communal clashes.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Asaduddin Owaisi, the president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), condemned the killing that took place in Saroornagar, Telangana, on Friday, calling it a "criminal conduct" under the Constitution and Islam.

"I openly condemn the incident", Owaisi declared in a public address in Hyderabad, Telangana. "The woman voluntarily chose to marry the deceased. Her brothers had no authority to murder her spouse. According to the Constitution, it is a criminal offence, and it is the worst crime in Islam," the AIMIM chief added.

"Since yesterday, this affair is being given a different tone. Didn't the cops here promptly arrest the suspect? He's been taken into custody. We do not support the killers," he said

"This is our city, we know how to maintain peace and order here. We have people from different religions and communities living in harmony", he added.

On Wednesday, 4 May, a Dalit man named Billipuram Nagaraju was brutally beaten and killed on a busy road in Hyderabad's Saroornagar district over his marriage to a Muslim woman, Ashrin Sulthana.

Syed Mobin Ahmed, Sulthana's brother, and her relative, Mohammed Masood Ahmed, were detained on Thursday in Hyderabad's Saroornagar police station for their involvement in the murder of Nagaraju.

Owaisi on Communal Clashes

Asaduddin Owaisi also took the opportunity to speak on the communal violence incidents that took place in Jahangirpuri and Khargone in April.

He said, "I believe that anytime a religious procession is held, high definition CCTV should be installed on the mosque, and once the procession moves, it should be broadcast live on Facebook so that the entire world can see who is pelting stones."

Several incidents of communal clashes have been reported from different parts of the country since last month.

Violent clashes had broken out during a Ram Navami procession in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone and other states like Gujarat, Jharkhand, and West Bengal on 10 April. Later that month, communal skirmishes erupted in Delhi's Jahangirpuri and Uttarakhand's Haridwar, on 16 April and 18 April respectively, during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.

Clashes also broke out between two communities in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, on Monday, 2 May amid Eid celebrations.

A petition has also been filed in the Supreme Court, requesting the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to investigate the clashes.