Court Issues Notice to Kejriwal and Others in Chief Secretary Assault Case
The Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi Anil Baijal has warned Kejriwal that he will not tolerate violence by AAP politicians.
By Rakesh Raman
A Special Judge of a District Court in Delhi on Monday (November 1) issued notice to Delhi chief minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal and others in a case of alleged assault on Anshu Prakash who was the chief secretary of Delhi when the incident happened.
Anshu Prakash has challenged a court order discharging Kejriwal, deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and nine others in this case related to an alleged assault on him in 2018.
All charges against the accused were dropped in August. Charges were framed only against Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.
Besides Kejriwal and Sisodia, according to a report of November 1 in The Indian Express, a total of 11 AAP MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) were booked in the case. The incident allegedly took place at the Kejriwal’s residence in February 2018 when the then chief secretary was called there for a meeting related to release of advertisements.
The court has issued the notice to Kejriwal and others on Anshu Prakash’s revision plea and listed the matter for further proceedings on November 23.
In this case, Delhi Police had questioned Kejriwal and others who were present at Kejriwal’s residence on February 19, 2018 when the scuffle with the chief secretary happened.
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After the alleged assault on the chief secretary, bureaucrats of Delhi had refused to meet Kejriwal. And Anshu Prakash had sent a letter to Kejriwal in which he had specified a slew of conditions for attending a meeting with the ministers.
In his letter, Anshu Prakash had said that he will be attending the meeting with his colleague officers with the assumption that Kejriwal will ensure that there will be no physical attack or verbal assault on officers.
Anshu Prakash also urged Kejriwal to maintain proper decorum in the meeting and protect the dignity of officers. Moreover, the Lt. Governor (LG) of Delhi Anil Baijal has warned Kejriwal that he will not tolerate violence by AAP politicians.
In the Delhi election of last year (2020), Kejriwal’s AAP had the maximum number of candidates with criminal records. Yet, AAP won 62 of the 70 Assembly seats to retain power in the city-state.
Election research organizations Delhi Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) revealed that AAP had the highest number of 36 nominees with serious charges against them.
There are multiple criminal investigations happening against AAP politicians. In September 2021, Kejriwal and his party had confirmed that India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) – which probes financial crimes – has called AAP’s national secretary Pankaj Gupta for questioning.
Gupta was summoned in connection with a money laundering case involving a former AAP politician Sukhpal Singh Khaira who is already facing investigation in the alleged drug trafficking and fake passports case.
Meanwhile, a new “Catch Your MLA” service helps residents file their grievances about the carelessness of the MLAs in Delhi. You can click here to know more about this service and the disaster in Delhi.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.
