E-Paper
Punjab Police book ex-AAP leaders Vishwas, Lamba for remarks on Kejriwal
Though the case against former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas was registered on the complaint of an AAP worker at Rupnagar’s Sadar police station on April 12, the matter came to light on Wednesday when a Punjab Police team reached his Ghaziabad house to summon him to join investigation within 48 hours.
Punjab Police have registered a case against former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Kumar Vishwas and Alka Lamba for promoting enmity by allegedly making false statements against party’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of supporting separatists, in the run-up to the February 20 assembly elections, police said on Wednesday.
Though the case against Vishwas was registered on the complaint of an AAP worker at Rupnagar’s Sadar police station on April 12, the matter came to light on Wednesday when a Punjab Police team reached his Ghaziabad house to summon him to join investigation within 48 hours.
The complainant said that when he was campaigning in a village along with AAP supporters, some masked men stopped them and called them Khalistani.
“The FIR (first information report) has been registered on the basis of a complaint that Kumar Vishwas made wrong statements in his interviews for promoting enmity in society,” said Rupnagar superintendent of police (Detective) Harbir Singh Atwal, who is heading the Special Investigation Team to probe the case. “It has been alleged that AAP workers faced violence during the elections due to the wrong statements of Vishwas.”
The poet-turned-politician had triggered a controversy when he accused Delhi chief minister Kejriwal of wanting “to become the prime minister of independent Khalistan” on February 16. Kejriwal and the AAP remained under attack from both the Congress and the BJP over the issue and some party workers were also roughed up during the election campaign. The Centre had provided ‘Y category’ security cover to Vishwas.
“As a result of these statements and videos, the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab is likely to be disturbed. As a part of the investigation, notice has been served upon Kumar Vishwas to produce whatever evidence he has to support his allegations,” the SSP said, adding, “The matter is being investigated as per facts and the law.”
Vishwas has been booked under Section 125 of the Representation of the People Act, besides various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place etc), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report), 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
“When the police reached to serve the notice asking him to join investigation, he was not at home. If Vishwas fails to join the probe within 48 hours, he will be arrested following the due course of law,” the SSP said.
Vishwas criticised Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann in a tweet while sharing a photo of the police team at his residence. He warned Mann against “the person sitting in Delhi (Kejriwal)”, saying he will “betray you and Punjab”.
“You are now giving Punjab’s power to the person sitting in Delhi. One day, he will betray Punjab and you. The country should remember my warning,” Vishwas tweeted in Hindi.
Former AAP MLA Alka Lamba, who is now with the Congress, has also been booked along with Vishwas, superintendent of Rupnagar police Harbir Singh Atwal said, adding that a police team had been sent to serve a notice to her to join investigation. As Lamba was not available, the police pasted the notice on door of her house. She is a co-accused in the FIR.
Lamba shared a copy of the notice on Twitter and claimed police officials threatened her of “consequences” if she failed to appear before the SIT. Calling herself a “Gandhian soldier of Congress”, Lamba said if she was not afraid of “big Sanghis” then “small sanghis” cannot scare her.
Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu said the state police were acting like a puppet of Kejriwal. “Police action against Kumar Vishwas and Alka Lamba shows that it is being used to silence his critics. Congress stands firm with Alka and will accompany her to police station to protest against politicisation of Punjab Police,” he said.
No senior AAP leader made any comment on the issue. However, a party leader requesting anonymity said the chief minister’s office was monitoring every development in the case.
Earlier this month, the Punjab Police had booked two Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga and Naveen Kumar Jindal. Bagga was booked as he had been attacking Kejriwal over his remarks on the movie ‘The Kashmir Files’, while Jindal was booked for sharing a doctored video clip of Kejriwal on April 6.
