Hyderabad: Hyderabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand exercised his magisterial powers to make rival factions of Nampally MLA Mohammed Majid Hussain of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Congress leader Feroze Khan agree to the cessation of hostilities.
A series of clashes between the two leaders and supporters alarmed the city police to an extent that the Police Commissioner invoked his special powers to summon and ask them to temper their language and refrain from provocative activities.
Hyderabad Police Commissioner, also known as Kotwal since the days of Asaf Jahi dynasty, enjoys some special powers to maintain law and order.
Anand, who is the 61st Kotwal of Hyderabad, held a court in his capacity as Additional District Magistrate under section 107 of the erstwhile Criminal Procedure Code (now section 126 of BNSS, the new criminal procedure code).
Majid Hussain and Feroze Khan along with their supporters appeared before the Police Commissioner in response to the warrants issued. The two factions have been quarrelling since the Assembly elections held in November last year. It was a close contest, in which Majid Hussain defeated Feroze Khan by 2,037 votes.
In the Police Commissioner’s own words, the feud between the two groups became a headache for the police to maintain order in the constituency. He said recently they got into a huge fisticuff on the streets over a road laying issue, and police had a tough time separating them, booking cases and arresting them, etc.
According to Commissioner, to keep them in check and make them air their grievances in front of him cases under 126 BNSS were booked, warrants issued and they were produced in his court. “Both groups were shown the videos of their recent fracas, they were told that in our democracy there has to be space for each other and that too peacefully and that ruling and opposition is a compulsory component. They aired their issues and how the other is disturbing their programmes,” the Police Commissioner said.
The police chief said the two leaders came to an understanding of the protocols to be followed in future, the effort required to avoid a clash between both sides and intimation to police of their programmes. “They were advised to temper their language which is leading to the heat and the case was posted to two months later for further hearing,” added the Commissioner.
On October 7, both the leaders and their supporters had clashed during an inspection of road repair works being taken up at Feroz Gandhi Nagar in Humayun Nagar.
Both the groups exchanged blows and pelted stones, which resulted in injuries to some of the followers of both the groups besides causing panic among the public.
Station House Officer of Humayun Nagar Police Station said that both the groups are at loggerheads resorting to illegal and wrongful acts causing breach of peace affecting the public tranquillity in the limits of Humayun Nagar Police Commissioner and its adjoining areas. He further requested to bind them over for the reasonable period as the court deems fit.
AIMIM has been maintaining its hold on Nampally constituency ever since it came into existence following delimitation of constituencies in 2009. Feroz Khan contested every election here but remained unsuccessful. He lost narrowly in the elections held in November last year.
It will be interesting to see how the two leaders conduct themselves now after the Police Commissioner’s intervention.
