Malerkotla Quran sacrilege: Cops to summon AAP MLA as accused claims link

Delhi-based businessman Vijay Kumar, main accused in the June 24 incident of sacrilege of the Quran in Malerkotla that had led to violence, claimed on Saturday that he did it at the behest of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Delhi MLA Naresh Yadav who was his “friend”; but Yadav outrightly denied any role . However, Sangrur superintendent of police (SSP) Pritpal Singh, however, said the “MLA will be summoned” based on Vijay’s claim.

Delhi-based businessman Vijay Kumar, main accused in the June 24 incident of sacrilege of the Quran in Malerkotla that had led to violence, claimed in front of the media on Saturday that he did it at the behest of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Delhi MLA Naresh Yadav who was his “friend”; but Yadav outrightly denied any role. However, Sangrur superintendent of police (SSP) Pritpal Singh said the “MLA will be summoned” based on Vijay’s claim, which came on the eve of AAP head and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s three-day Punjab tour.

Delhi-based businessman Vijay Kumar, main accused in the June 24 incident of (HT Photo)

Yadav, when contacted, said: “I know many people named Vijay. But I am learning through the media about such an incident in Malerkotla.”

Vijay talked to the media when the police took him to Government Rajindra Hospital here for medical examination. However, he denied that he was a worker or member of the AAP.

This comes after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had owned up the two other accused in the case — Nand Kishore Goldy, the radical outfit’s Punjab unit secretary (organisation), and his son Gaurav. The VHP has said they were being framed, though it had distanced itself from Vijay.

On the day of the arrest, police had claimed that none of three was affiliated to any organisation and that the trio had acted out of “hatred for Muslims and Pakistan” with the intention to start a riot in Punjab’s only Muslim-majority town. The town did see arson but no communal riot.