AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday raised concerns꧂ about the legality of the alleged encounter that led to the death of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad's son Asad and an accompli🏅ce in Uttar Pradesh.
Ta🐠lking to reporters here, he said there would be an inquiry as per the Supreme Court guidelines, but that "so-called encounters should not take placeꦺ".
"Indeed, whether it is Umesh Pal or Raju Pal, we have sympathy for them. Because, those people were murdered. How can we support those who committed the murder? But, there is a process, law, Constitution. You get them punisꦑhment. Wh🐭o is stopping you? You get them life (imprisonment)," he said.
He was referring to ꦏmedia reports that raised questions on the alleged enc♍ounter.
"That's why I am saying ꧒encounter should not happen. We are not supporting any mafia don. But we were against encounters and will remain against so-called encounters," he said.
A🅘sked about Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's reported remarks that the mafia would be destroyed, he said that the said mafia could be destroyed by putting t꧂hem behind bars.
Owꦗaisi also said local b♎ody polls were scheduled to happen in May in Uttar Pradesh but did not elaborate.
The AIMIM chief recalled that encounters of those involved in Left wing wxtremism used take place in undivided 🥃Andhra Pradesh in the 1990s and that he used t𓂃o speak against those encounters in the Legislative Assembly.
He said he felt that people's faith in the Constitution had declined due to encounters, which are extra-judicial killings.💞 "Rule of law gets weakened with encounters,"; he said.
"My consis꧋tent stand has been that I have beꦑen against encounters, and spoke on it,"; he said.
Recallin🌊g that shots were fired at his vehicle one year ago, he said he did not seek the encounter of those who fired the shots but spoke against those who were behind them.
Gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad's son Asad and an accomplice🍸, both wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case, were shot dead in an exchange of fire with the Uttar Pradesh Police near Jhansi on Thursday, officials said.
Attacking the BJP for cond🌺ucting encounters "in the name of religion";, Owaisi on Thursday sought to know whether those who burnt to death the two youth in Haryana would also be𝔉 killed in an encounter.
-With PTI Input
