After serving notice on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Delhi Police Crime Branch issued a notice to PWD and Finance Minister Atishi on Sunday, asking her to respond to charges of poaching attempts by the BJP with evidence. A team from the crime branch also visited Atishi’s residence at Mathura Road and served her the notice. The police waited outside her home as she was not present.
Meanwhile, Atishi, who holds the portfolios of education, PWD, culture, and tourism, instructed members of her camp office to receive any notices from the police on her behalf. Later, it was revealed that Atishi, along with AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chaddha and spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, were at Chief Minister Kejriwal’s residence. A video showed the crime branch and the media outside Atishi’s home in Delhi.
Atishi asserted that these were the same individuals from the BJP who had engaged in MLA poaching in Uttarakhand, Goa, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra over the last 8 years.
The AAP leader expressed concern, saying, “The political masters of police officers, who have a passion to serve the country and protect women, have turned them into a prime-time gimmick.”
The BJP has created an image of Delhi Police as cowards; even criminals might be contemplating why they should fear those who are scared of mere cameras.”
Sources have reported that the staff of the Delhi minister received the notice after the Crime Branch team visited the AAP leader’s residence for a second time at 12:55 pm on Sunday. Earlier in the day, police officials had arrived at the minister’s residence, but she was not present. “The team visited again to serve the notice to Atishi. They initially visited her house in the morning when she was not at her residence,” explained a senior police officer from the Crime Branch.
Later, addressing a press conference, Atishi said that the notice served to her by the police in connection with the MLA poaching allegation she made does not mention an FIR or include penal provisions.
Expressing sympathy for the Crime Branch officers, she asserted that they were being compelled by their “political bosses” to engage in what she referred to as “theatrics.”
“At present, the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has served notices to both Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and me. However, it’s crucial to note that the notice lacks any reference to an FIR and does not cite any sections from the IPC (Indian Penal Code), CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure), PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act), or Prevention of Corruption Act,” Atishi said.
In response to the notice, AAP leader Jasmine Shah stated that the notice lacks information about a summons, an FIR, or any section of the IPC or CrPC. “This is just a letter on white paper,” Shah remarked.
He continued, “Crime Branch officials also reached the residence of Delhi Minister Atishi today to serve her a notice. They wanted to give it only to her personally and not to her officials. Should Delhi ministers always stay at their homes to personally receive each and every delivery?” Shah added that police officers had waited five hours before delivering the notice to an official of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
According to the notice, the Crime Branch has asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi to provide information on the allegations of poaching leveled against the BJP. The statements by them suggest they were “privy to certain information regarding the commission of a cognizable offence.” They have been instructed to respond to the notice by February 5.
“An inquiry is being conducted by the Crime Branch, Delhi Police, based on a complaint received regarding the allegations made by you that the BJP has offered Rs 25 crore each to sitting MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party to leave AAP and join the BJP. These allegations were posted by you on X (formerly Twitter) on January 27,” read the notice.
“The plain reading of the said tweet indicates that you are privy to certain information regarding the commission of a cognizable offence. Therefore, you are hereby requested to provide answers to the questionnaire enclosed herewith by February 5,” the notice continued.
“Any additional or supplementary information that you may wish to share, or which may be deemed by you to be of any assistance for the inquiry, may either be tendered in writing or can be recorded by the undersigned on the date and venue mentioned above,” it added.
This notice comes a day after Crime Branch officials served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP attempted to poach seven AAP MLAs. On January 27, Kejriwal and Atishi had claimed that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs by offering Rs 25 crore each and a ticket to contest next year’s assembly poll to topple the AAP government.
