Delhi chief secy assault: Arrested AAP MLAs sent to judicial custody, police plea for custody rejected

AAP legislators Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal were arrested for an alleged assault on Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash, and were in court for their bail hearing.

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent two Aam Aadmi Party MLAs to judicial custody for a day when their bail plea will be taken up after a police plea for two-day custodial interrogation was rejected.

AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal being produced at Tees Hazari Court in connection with alleged assault on Delhi chief secretary, in New Delhi, on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

AAP legislators Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal were arrested in connection with an alleged assault on Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash during a meeting at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on the night of February 19.

The metropolitan magistrate Shefali Barnala Tandon refused the Delhi Police plea and posted the hearing of their bail petition of the two MLAs.

The details of the reasons for denying the police custody of the two legislators were not immediately available.

The two MLAs were produced before the court amid tight security, in the presence of a large number of AAP workers.

While Jarwal was arrested on Tuesday night, Khan was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon.

During the hearing, public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava sought two days police custody of both the MLAs saying they had committed a serious crime of assaulting and humiliating the senior-most officer of the state.

He said a total of 11 persons were involved in the incident and the two MLAs have to be confronted with other accused to unearth the larger conspiracy. The role of the other accused, who are yet to be arrested, also needed to be ascertained, the prosecutor said.

He also alleged that it was a serious case of assault and both the MLAs were not cooperating in the probe.

Srivastava claimed that Anshu Prakash was intimidated by the accused and none of the MLAs present there came forward to save him.

Advocate BS Joon, appearing for both the MLAs, opposed the application for police custody and said they were ready to cooperate in the probe. He said the charge of assaulting public servant was invoked in the FIR without conducting the MLC of the bureaucrat.

Both of them are public representatives and not hardened criminals, Joon said, adding the incident is a “fallout of power struggle between the Centre and the NCT of Delhi”.

He further submitted that as per the footage of the CCTV installed at the chief minister’s house, the chief secretary’s vehicle entered and exited within seven minutes and eight seconds.

In his complaint, chief secretary Anshu Prakash alleged the attack was a conspiracy. He said he was sitting on a sofa flanked by Khan and another AAP MLA during the February 19 night meeting, and without provocation, the two legislators “started hitting and assaulting” him “with blows on head and temple”. The ruling AAP has denied the allegations.

A case has been registered at Civil Lines Police Station in north Delhi on the complaint filed by the chief secretary.