Kejriwal asked to join probe into alleged assault on Delhi chief secretary

Delhi Police say they are yet to receive a reply from the Chief Minister’s Office.

Delhi Police has issued a notice to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to join investigation in connection with the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash in February.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal arrives during the Delhi government budget 2018-19 at Delhi Legislative Assembly in New Delhi on March 22, 2018. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)

In the notice issued by the investigating officer of this case on Wednesday, Kejriwal has been asked to make himself available at his office or residence at 11 am on Friday. The development was confirmed by Harendra Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (north).

In the weeks following the alleged assault an FIR in this case, the police investigators had interacted with Kejriwal’s former advisor VK Jain and private secretary Vibhav Kumar. The police had in the past questioned some of the 11 MLAs who were present at the meeting in which the alleged crime took place.

The notice to Kejriwal was issued under 160 CrPC that gives a police officer the power to require the attendance of a witness of a crime. It is undersigned by inspector Karan Singh Rana, the station house officer of Civil Lines police station where the case was registered.

Justifying the summons, the notice letter said the FIR reflected that Kejriwal was acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case. The CM has been given an option of suggesting another timing in case he found it inconvenient to make himself available at 11 am on Friday.

Aam Aadmi Party’s chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said it was the first time in India’s democratic history that a chief minister is to be questioned by police in a “false case”.

“Arvind Kejriwal has been harassed by futile raids by the police and CBI. Ministers like Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain have been defamed by false cases. MLAs were troubled with fabricated cases. The courts have been dismissing such false cases one by one. The agenda of narrow-minded politics by Modi Ji is visible more than ever,” alleged Bhardwaj.