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Delhi Police booked 13 AAP MLAs but struggled to explain charges against them
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the Delhi Police of “harassing” its MLAs. Thirteen AAP MLAs have been arrested for offences that include molestation, rioting, kidnapping, and forgery.
In the two-year-long uneasy relationship between the Aam Aadmi Party-run Delhi government and the city police that reports to the Centre, the AAP has accused the police of launching a witch-hunt against it and “harassing” its MLAs. Thirteen The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs have been arrested for offences that include molestation, rioting, kidnapping, and forgery.
Out of the 13 arrested legislators, one was acquitted even as the other cases are pending trial. Apart from MLA Sandeep Kumar (accused of rape) and MLA Jitender Tomar (allegedly forged educational degree), none of the 13 MLAs spent more than a week in jail before getting bail. Kumar spent over two months, while Tomar was in prison for about three weeks.
Most MLAs got bail in the first or second hearing, with the court questioning police investigation and their decision to arrest the legislators in many cases.
Sample this: In September last year, police arrested MLA Somnath Bharti for allegedly torturing his wife, Lipika Mitra, and setting his dog on her when she was pregnant. Within a week, Bharti was released on bail with the court noting that the dog did not respond to the MLA’s commands during examination by a board of animal husbandry board officials.
In police files, the court found no medical evidence to support his wife’s allegations of the minister slitting her wrist.
Another MLA, Gulab Singh, was arrested in a case of alleged extortion from Gujarat on the day he was to hold a rally in the state. A Delhi court pulled up the police for waiting to arrest Singh at that exact moment knowing well that he was addressing a rally. Singh was granted bail immediately.
In at least two cases, the court observed that the complainants never named the MLAs. In one case, police arrested an MLA because the complainant blamed “AML” in her suicide note. Court released the legislator on bail, noting the police misinterpreted AML as MLA.
AAP MLAs from the files of Delhi Police:
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