Owaisi questions RSS role in India's freedom struggle
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned the contribution of RSS in India's freedom struggle and alleged that Sangh founder K B Hedgewar was jailed not for opposing British rule but for supporting the 'Khilafat movement'.
Addressing a rally in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Monday ahead of the municipal corporation polls scheduled on January 15, he denied the presence of Bangladeshis in the region and claimed that if any Bangladeshi migrants were found here, it would reflect the failure of the Narendra Modi government.
He criticised the ruling BJP for using such narratives to push its Hindutva agenda and distract from governance failures.
Targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Owaisi said, "Is there any RSS leader who has been to jail fighting against the British?"
"They say that Hedgewar was imprisoned, but he went to jail in support of the Khilafat movement. And today they speak of hatred against Muslims," he claimed.
"RSS gives us the knowledge of patriotism, but did anyone from them lose their lives against the Britishers? Instead, (socialist leader) Yusuf Meherally of Mumbai gave the slogans of 'Quit India' and 'Simon Go back'. They don't read the history and accuse us of being Bangladeshis," he charged.
The Khilafat movement (1919 to 1924) was an agitation by Muslims to pressure the British government to preserve the authority of the Ottoman Sultan as Caliph (spiritual leader) of Islam after World War I.
Owaisi targeted the government, saying that despite having police, intelligence, and border control, it failed to complete even a 10-km fence along the Bangladesh border.
"China and ISI have reached Bangladesh, and the BJP and RSS are saying 'Bangladesh-Bangladesh' here," he added.
He appealed to the people to vote in large numbers in the upcoming municipal elections, emphasising that a strong turnout would serve as proof of their participation when the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) takes place in Maharashtra.
The authority to question citizenship lies with the Home Ministry as per the Citizenship Act, "but the Modi government has given these responsibilities to the Election Commission," Owaisi alleged.
Former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel challenged state Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s claim that the party would be wiped out in the elections here.
"I challenge you (Shinde) that if this happens here, I will shave my beard. But if it does not happen, you should be ready to use a razor for the same," he added.
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Woman software employee murdered by ex-husband in Hyderabad
Hyderabad (PTI): A 29-year-old woman software employee was allegedly killed by her former husband at her house here on Wednesday, police said.
The victim's husband in a complaint stated that his wife was three months pregnant. However, police said it was not confirmed so far as the post-mortem report is awaited.
The accused, in his 30s, who worked as a software employee in Canada earlier, barged into the victim's residence and after noticing her in a room locked it from inside and allegedly stabbed her multiple times on her head with a knife resulting in her instant death.
The woman's mother-in-law was in the verandah of the house at the time of the incident.
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After being informed by her family members and neighbours, police reached the spot and found that the accused had poured petrol in the room, which he brought with him in a can, and had locked himself in the washroom.
He threatened to set off fire in the room with a lighter he was carrying and after being convinced by the police officials he came out of the washroom and was taken into custody, a police official said.
The couple got married in 2022 and mutually divorced in 2024. She had a second marriage in April 2025, police said.
Based on preliminary investigation, police said the accused bore grudge against his ex-wife as she filed domestic violence case against him.
Police said after their marriage in India, the accused went to Canada, and the deceased later joined him there.
"Some differences arose between the couple and after staying with him for five days she later returned to India and subsequently filed domestic violence case against him in Maharashtra," they said.
The accused came to India from Canada in March 2025 following the death of his mother, a police official said.
A Look-out Circular was issued against him because of the case and his passport was suspended and he was unable to go back to Canada since then and was presently residing in his native place in Peddapalli district of Telangana, without any work.
The accused felt that he and his family faced mental suffering due to the case. He also felt that his mother's death was due to the mental agony caused by the estranged wife, police said.
The accused developed a grudge against her and decided to eliminate her, police said. He managed to locate her residential address through her social media account and came to Hyderabad two months ago and stayed in a hostel.
He also "recceed" the victim’s apartment recently.
As per his plan, he came to the apartment on Wednesday with a bag containing two knives, a drilling machine, a can containing five-liter petrol among other items.
CCTV footage broadcast by local TV channels showed the man carrying a bag and walking in the corridor of the apartment.
