HYDERABAD: Mohammed Pahelwan, the man who is suspected of being the force behind Saturday's attack on MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, was a young wrestler in the late 1980s. But in the cloak and dagger politics of the Old City, he was a nonentity.
A milk supplier, he struggled to make ends meet.
Though hot-headed, Pahelwan was liked in his neighbourhood. His penchant for a fight was noticed by MIM leaders who thought he would be handy in settling local disputes. They took him into the party fold. Pahelwan stayed loyal to Akbaruddin till a few years ago.
Those who know Pahelwan well say he was a dedicated and committed worker of the MIM and shared a good rapport with the late Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi and his sons Asaduddin and Akbaruddin.
Sources told Express that Pahelwan, 50, lived at Erragadda in the 1970s. In the 1980s the family shifted to Barkas where they used to sell milk to eke out a livelihood.
Pahelwan was well known in the locality as he was a wrestler.
One day, a senior MIM leader, who came to know about Pahelwan's "qualities" spotted him and invited him to join the party.
The next few years saw Pahelwan grow in terms of money and power -- all under the umbrella of the MIM.
"During the elections, he used to be active in the campaigning. Being a wrestler, he could get things done. Besides campaigning, he was put to use in settling land disputes. He began making money and his lifestyle changed. He purchased a few properties," a police official said.
Though investigators describe Saturday's attack on Akbaruddin as "daring" since it took place in a MIM stronghold where few would dare touch the junior Owaisi, daring acts are not new to Pahelwan. Serious differences cropped up between Pahelwan and MIM reportedly over his share in a land deal.