Gangsters threatening 2 AAP MLAs: MP Sanjay Singh

The Delhi Police said cases have been registered in the matter and that they are probing the incident.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member of Parliament Sanjay Singh on Saturday said his party MLAs Sanjeev Jha and Ajay Dutt have been getting extortion calls from gangsters, who have threatened them with dire consequences if they did not cough up ₹5-10 lakh as “protection money”. Questioning the “law and order situation in Delhi” — the Delhi Police comes under the central government — the AAP MP said if MLAs are getting such calls repeatedly, he can only wonder at the plight of the common man.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Spokesperson Sanjay Singh. (ANI)

The Delhi Police said cases have been registered in the matter and that they are probing the incident.

According to Singh, Jha, the MLA from Burari, started receiving the extortion calls from June 20, while Dutt, the MLA from Ambedkar Nagar, received them on June 22.

Addressing a press conference on Saturday, Singh said the MLAs have received at least 24 such calls with the callers threatening to harm them and their families if they do not pay the protection money.

“When Jha received the extortion call from an unknown person, we met the Delhi Police commissioner and filed a FIR in the matter. We were informed that the case would be sent to the special cell for investigation. Despite that, another AAP MLA received an extortion call from the same person two days later,” Singh said.

“If this is the kind of lawlessness in Delhi, where three-time elected MLAs are receiving such calls, then imagine the situation of city residents. We are now waiting to see what investigation the Delhi Police will do. We are making this information public so that people are aware of the law and order situation in Delhi,” Singh said.

Jha, who also attended the press conference, said his office has been receiving audio recordings of threats, phone calls and messages every day since June 20. “On June 21, we filed a complaint with the Special Cell and we also received a copy of the FIR. But until now, we have not received any information on whether a detailed investigation into the matter has begun,” Jha said.

Dutt claimed that the caller identified himself as “Vicky Cobra”. “Initially, I did not take the call seriously, but then I found out that Jha also received a similar call. As of now, we get the impression that the Delhi Police is not taking the cases seriously, and that is unfortunate,” said Dutt.

On Saturday evening, the special cell released a press note saying cases have been registered on both complaints. “On the complaint of Sh Sanjeev Jha, MLA from Burari constituency, regarding extortion by a caller using international number, FIR under applicable sections of extortion and IT Act has been registered on 21.06.2022, at PS Special Cell, Delhi, the note said.

”Today (Saturday), a similar complaint was received from Sh Ajay Dutt, MLA from Ambedkar Nagar constituency, who allegedly received extortion threat from the same international number.Another case under sections of extortion & IT Act has been registered. Investigation is underway to identify and trace the culprits,” the special cell said.