Three members of the Aam Aadmi Party were on Saturday remanded in judicial custody by a city court over allegations of inciting communal sentiments by affixing provocative posters against Congress MLAs who are allegedly ready to help the BJP form a government in Delhi.
The AAP’s Delhi unit secretary Dilip Pandey, Ram Kumar Jha, and Javed Ahmed were produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Sheetal Chaudhary, who found “enough material on record” to “substantiate” that their actions could “create enmity among different classes/communities.” She gave the police 14 days to investigate the matter.
The trio will be brought to court on August 2 to decide their bail applications.
Public prosecutor Nidhi Bala said their judicial custody was necessary since the investigation was in its initial stage, and could still be influenced by the accused. She said the police had electronic evidence to prove that the poster had been designed by Ahmed with Pandey and Jha’s approval.
While requesting bail, AAP’s counsel Rahul Mehra admitted his clients had been “negligent.” They were fuelled by their ideals and had no intentions of inciting communal passions, he added.
He told the court that one Amanatullah Khan, a volunteer of AAP, had confessed putting up the posters. The prosecution said the police were probing the veracity of Khan’s confession.
{{/usCountry}}He told the court that one Amanatullah Khan, a volunteer of AAP, had confessed putting up the posters. The prosecution said the police were probing the veracity of Khan’s confession.
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