"Do you think police would handover my weapon?": Farhan Azmi refutes claims of "brandishing" gun

Panaji (Goa) [India], March 5 (ANI): Farhan Azmi, son of Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Abu Azmi, on Wednesday refuted the claims of "brandishing" his gun during an altercation with a local resident, after which the Goa police registered a case against him and others.
Dismissing the allegations of misusing his weapon, Azmi said that police wouldn't have handed over his gun back to him if he had misused it.
"If I had misused my weapon, do you think the police would have handed over my weapon back to me? I know the Arms Act. I never brandished the weapon. I have a video which will prove that I handed over my bag to the police," Azmi told ANI.
He stated that the police and law would teach a lesson to those who try to make Goa communal.
"Anybody who comes in the way and tries to make Goa look communal, I am going to teach them a lesson. The police and law are going to teach them a lesson. I have been coming to Goa for the last 20 years. I have Goans who love me, and I love them back. My dentist is Goan. My lawyer is Goan. My bodyguard is Goan. My driver (Moses) is also Goan," Azmi said.
Narrating the incident, Azmi said that the situation escalated after a person "who was drunk" started abusing him and his 11-year-old son, after which 150-200 locals jammed the road. He added that the crowd was trying to pull them out of the car, using racist terms.
"I had come to Goa two days ago to celebrate Ramzan. After I had parked my car on the road, a gentleman who was completely drunk came to my window and started abusing my son and me and tried to hit me. He was using the dirtiest language. I got scared and called the police. But at that time, around 150-200 locals jammed the road. They saw the sticker on my car and asked if I was an MLA. They were trying to pull us out of the car. They were using racist terms. But I am willing to let everything go," Azmi said.
Accusing the crowd of snatching the bag (which had the weapon), he clarified that he "responsibly" handed the bag to the police and got it on video as well. He added that the crowd of locals tried to pull him out of the police van.
"They were insisting that I be taken into custody. I went and sat in the police van. Then, they heard from the police that I had a weapon in my bag. It's my duty to inform the police. I have a video where I'm handing my bag to the police. They are trying to snatch the bag. They are trying to open the bag and take the weapon out. They have beaten the cops. How can they get inside the police van and try to pull me out?" Azmi said.
"The locals were saying take my son should also be taken into custody. But he's just 11 years old. He was in tears, he was shivering," he added.
Joseph Fernandes, one of the accused, on Wednesday clarified that there was only a "verbal altercation" between his son Zeon Fernandes and Azmi. He refuted the claims made by the media, saying that Farhan did not "brandish the gun" but threatened his son while saying that "he was carrying a pistol in the car."
"We had a verbal altercation, and that's it. No fights, slaps, and as the media put it, he did not brandish the gun," Fernandes told ANI.
"My demand is that the media should stop reporting all these false allegations. We did not register a complaint because the (conflict) was resolved as we compromised. But I want to say that it was his (Farhan's) fault because he came and tried to revive the issue," he added.
Narrating his side of the story, Fernandes said that the "slight altercation" happened when his son was returning from the Mapusa carnival on a motorcycle, where their entire family was present. He added that a Black SUV turned left without giving the indicator, which could have caused an accident.
Fernandes stated that his son hit the side mirror of Farhan Azmi's vehicle and moved on. However, he added, there was a verbal altercation later, after which Azmi threatened his son, saying that he had a pistol in the car.
The Goa police on Tuesday filed a case against Maharashtra SP MLA Abu Azmi's son Farhan Azmi and others for indulging in a fight at a public place in the state and disturbing the peace, officials said.
"We received a call that there was some fight between two parties at Candolim near Newton's... One person who was driving a Maharashtra registration vehicle had an altercation with some locals," Police Inspector Paresh Naik told ANI.
He further said that a case has been registered against Abu Farhan Azmi, Zeon Fernandes, Joseph Fernandes, Shaan, and others under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The Police Inspector said that they have registered an FIR and issued notices under 35 of the BNS. (ANI)