New Delhi: The two men arrested for firing at AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi’s car had to abort the attack thrice earlier due to presence of large crowds, according to their statements recorded by Uttar Pradesh police.
Sachin Sharma and Shubham were nabbed after the Lok Sabha MP’s car was shot at when he was returning to Delhi from election campaigns in and around Meerut.
As per the FIR, the accused were initially reluctant to speak openly. But when they were informed that the incident had been captured on CCTV, Sachin described what had transpired, The Indian Express reported.
“I wanted to become a big politician. I consider myself a true patriot. I found Owaisi’s speeches harmful to the nation. In my head, I had developed an enmity with him,” the FIR quoted Sachin as saying to police.
The accused then got in touch with AIMIM’s Dasna chairman to keep track of Owaisi’s visits and decided to attack him during his campaign. He contacted Shubham, a Saharanpur resident who he has known for many years.
The duo attended one of Owaisi’s public gatherings on January 30 and wanted to execute their plan the same day, but decided to call it off because of the crowd, Sachin told police.
Two subsequent plans had to be abandoned before making another attempt three days ago, the FIR stated.
“Jaise hi Asaduddin ki gaadi Chhajarsi toll par shaam ke samay pe aayi tatha toll par slow hokar guzar rahi thi, maine aur Shubham ne ek rai hokar Owaisi ko jaan se maarne ke liye iski car ko target kar goliyan chalana shuru kar di… maine jaise hi pehli goli chalai to Owaisi ne mujhe goli chalate huye dekh liya aur yeh apni jaan bachane ke liye car ke neeche ki or baith gaye. Tab maine unki gaadi par neeche ki or goli chalayi. Mujhe ye umeed thi ki Owaisi mar gaye honge (The moment his car slowed down near Chhajarsi toll plaza, Shubham and I decided to kill Owaisi and started shooting at his car. Owaisi saw me shooting and to save himself, he ducked. It is then that I fired at the lower portion of the car. I was under the impression that Owaisi must have died),” the FIR quotes Sachin as telling police.
Shubham told police that his gun got jammed, so he could not fire more than one round.
