Sachin Sharma Hours before Thursday’s firing at Lok Sabha MP Asaduddin Owaisi’s vehicle, the alleged shooter, Sachin Sharma, had re-shared a Facebook post in which Owaisi can be heard making a speech that referred to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
“He (Sachin) often spoke of religion, and perhaps certain things said during the elections offended him,” Amit Sharma, who identified himself as a relative of the family, said.
On Friday, a small crowd had gathered outside Sachin’s home in Dadri’s Duryai village, discussing the previous day’s shooting.
The BJP flag flew on the terrace of the house, under the Tricolour. Sachin’s father is a labour contractor for factories in the area, and also handles their accounts.
The 25-year-old student who has a law degree from a college in Meerut and is now enrolled for an LLM at Royal College in Ghaziabad, was arrested at the spot where the Hyderabad MP’s vehicle was attacked near Chhajarsi toll plaza in Hapur district. An alleged accomplice, Shubham, was arrested soon afterward.
Officials said Sachin told police interrogators that Owaisi’s speeches had angered him. A pistol was recovered from him.
“We could not have imagined this. We have no idea where he got the gun from,” Amit Sharma said. The “talk of religion” is in evidence on Sachin’s Facebook page.
In a post on December 10, 2019, he referred to Hindus being insulted by the portrayal of Raja Suraj Mal in a Bollywood film. On September 15, 2019, he complained that the absence of unity among Hindus had led to problems, and declared he was ready to “sacrifice” his life for his religion.
February 16, 2019, he requested the Prime Minister to strap RDX on him and send him into Pakistan to avenge the deaths of Indian soldiers.
In some posts, Sachin can be seen posing alongside BJP leaders, including an MP. A post from July 7, 2019 purportedly shows a membership slip of the BJP. The local unit of the party, however, denied that he was a member or held a party post.
“We came to know of the incident and we saw his pictures with the leaders. He is neither a member nor an office-bearer. He was active on his own, and would get pictures clicked with them,” said Raj Nagar, district head of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
