AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan granted bail, day after arrest over demolition drive stir

Amanatullah Khan and others were arrested hours after being detained for demonstrating against the demolition drive of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan was on Friday granted bail by the Saket court in Delhi. Khan was arrested a day ago along with five others on charges of rioting and obstructing public servants in discharge of their duty during an anti-encroachment drive.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan speaking to the media during an anti-encroachment drive in the Shaheen Bagh area. (ANI)

Khan and others were arrested hours after being detained for demonstrating against the demolition drive of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

In protest, markets in Delhi's Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh remained shut on Friday. A majority of the shop-owners kept their shutters down to protest the "wrongful" arrest of the local MLA.

Earlier in the day it was reported, the Delhi Police had declared the AAP MLA as a "bad character". A PTI report said the proposal for declaring Khan as a "bad character" was sent on March 28 by the Jamia Nagar police station in Southeast district and approved on March 30, adding a total of 18 FIRs had been registered against him.

In another development, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reportedly called a meeting of AAP MLAs on Saturday to discuss BJP-led civic bodies' anti-encroachment drives.