New Delhi, August 13: Nearly six months after the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, Delhi Police Monday named Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 11 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs as accused in its chargesheet.
The chargesheet, filed in the Patiala House Court before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal, also names Amanatullah Khan, Prakash Jarwal, Nitin Tyagi, Rituraj Govind, Sanjeev Jha, Ajay Dutt, Rajesh Rishi, Rajesh Gupta, Madan Lal, Parveen Kumar and Dinesh Mohania.
“On February 20, a case was registered on a complaint of Prakash. After completion of the investigation and upon collection of evidence on record, a chargesheet has been filed in the court,” Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harinder Singh said. The court will take cognizance of the chargesheet, filed on the basis of investigation conducted on the complaint of Anshu Prakash, August 25. The accused, charged under 13 sections, may get a maximum of a seven-year jail term if found guilty.
The accused have been charged under IPC sections — 186 (obstructing a public servant), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant for doing his duty), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant to discharge his duties). In the chargesheet, the police have charged the accused of insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, punishment of abetment and unlawful assembly among others.
Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta demanded Kejriwal’s and Sisodia’s resignation. “They have lost right to continue in their high offices and govern Delhi,” Gupta said in a statement.
However, in a joint statement, Delhi cabinet ministers Gopal Rai, Satyendar Jain, Kailash Gahlot, Rajendra Pal Gautam and Imran Hussain called the chargesheet “bogus” and “politically motivated”. Stating that the chargesheet was based on “imaginary and false allegations”, the ministers termed it a “witch-hunt against the Delhi government”. “It is the latest example of the central government’s ongoing unprecedented witch-hunt against the Delhi government, elected with the highest-ever mandate in India’s electoral history,” the statement said.
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