Swellings and bruises on chief secretary’s face, cops see it as important evidence | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Swellings and bruises on chief secretary’s face, cops see it as important evidence

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Feb 22, 2018 12:16 AM IST

The chief secretary was allegedly assaulted by some Aam Aadmi Party MLAs during a midnight meeting at the Delhi chief minister’s home on Monday.

The medical examination of Delhi’s chief secretary, Anshu Prakash, has pointed to swelling and bruises on his face, and the police are treating it as an important piece of evidence.

Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash .(PTI)
Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash .(PTI)

The chief secretary was allegedly assaulted by some Aam Aadmi Party MLAs during a midnight meeting at the Delhi chief minister’s home on Monday. The CS had got a FIR registered against MLA Amanatullah Khan and other unnamed legislators.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

From Tuesday night until Wednesday afternoon, police have arrested two MLAs, Khan and Prakash Jarwal. “These two MLAs were the ones who allegedly hit the chief secretary,” said Dependra Pathak, Delhi Police’s chief spokesperson.

He said they are likely to question everyone present in the meeting, including the peons, guards and those who encountered the top officer immediately after the alleged assault. A senior investigator did not rule out questioning chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia “if the need be”.

As the police hunt for evidence, the medico-legal case (MLC) report prepared by doctors at the Delhi government’s Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital on Tuesday night, noted that Prakash had complained of painful movement of the neck, pain behind both his ears and below his right eye.

The examining doctor observed “tenderness and mild swelling” behind both ears, swelling over the jaw on the right side and a bruise over the lower lip. An expert said swellings, bruises and cuts were the most common physical presentation of an assault and cannot be fabricated.

“Depending on the severity of assault, the patients usually have bruises, cuts and lacerations, and fractures. The injuries – bruises and swellings – happen when there is an assault is with fists, slaps and punches,” said Dr VK Tiwari, a plastic surgeon at Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

Police investigators, who until the MLC report, only had Prakash’s statement to proceed, saw the MLC report as crucial evidence. Pathak said MLC reports were always an “important piece of evidence because it is scientific”.

A police officer who had interacted with the chief secretary said that the officer had been sandwiched between two MLAs who allegedly heckled him with elbows before raining punches on his face. “Two punches had landed on his forehead,” said the officer.

The police on Wednesday morning questioned VK Jain, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s advisor, who had allegedly called Prakash on his mobile phone at 8.45 pm on Monday.

“We interacted with Jain for over two hours. We understood him as a messenger who was present at the controversial meeting. He did not seem immediately liable for the offence, so we let him go,” said an investigator.

Pathak said the main focus through Wednesday was on arresting Prakash Jarwal and Amanatullah Khan, the two MLAs who allegedly physically assaulted the chief secretary. While Khan was named in the FIR, the chief secretary identified Jarwal as the other assaulter from a photograph. Jarwal was arrested from south Delhi’s Defence Colony a little after midnight on Wednesday.

Amanatullah surrendered at Jamia Nagar police station around 11 am on Wednesday. He was handed over to officer at Civil Lines police station where he and Jarwal were questioned. “The two MLAs did not cooperate with the investigators. We needed them to help us reconstruct the sequence of events,” said Pathak.

On Wednesday, a city court sent the two AAP MLAs to one-day in judicial custody, rejecting police’s request for two days custody for interrogation. The court directed the deputy commissioner of police to personally monitor the “highly sensitive” case. The MLAs have moved a bail application that will be heard on Thursday. Pathak said the police would be opposing the bail plea.

THE OTHER CASE

The police are yet to identify the people who allegedly assaulted minister Imran Hussain in a lift at the Secretariat on Tuesday. A FIR was registered at IP Estate police station but no attacker named in that.

DCP (central), Mandeep Singh Randhawa, said a notice has been sent to the Delhi administration, asking them to provide footage of CCTV cameras related to the alleged assault. “When we receive the footage, we will analyse it to identify the people who manhandled the MLA,” said Randhawa.

Unveiling 'Elections 2024: The Big Picture', a fresh segment in HT's talk show 'The Interview with Kumkum Chadha', where leaders across the political spectrum discuss the upcoming general elections. Watch now!
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On