This is just the opposite of what Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been preaching all along. On one hand it sermonises against criminalisation of politics, but its leaders seem to look the other way and the party had no qualms about allotting tickets to them.
For instance, AAP’s candidate from Karol Bagh (reserve) Assembly seat Vishesh Ravi’s elder brother has been jailed in connection with a kidnapping case. This matter would have been kept under the wraps but the details of Chakit Ravi’s involvement came to the fore after he applied for bail in a court claiming political conspiracy.
This puts a serious question on credibility of the AAP, which is gradually emerging as a party with no difference (unlike what it had been claiming all along).
Chakit Ravi, the elder brother of Vishesh Ravi, has been put in Tihar jail for his alleged role in kidnapping of a city-based businessman.His bail application is slated to be heard on Thursday in the court before district judge SK Sarvaria.
Earlier too, there have been several complaints against AAP leaders even as the party denied all allegations. AAP leader Surendra Sharma from Shahdara was accused in several criminal cases and was involved in property dispute cases as well. A number of FIRs were also registered against him; however, following criticism, Sharma was expelled from the party.
Similarly, two other AAP leaders — Deshraj Raghav and Vinod Binny from Uttam Nagar and lakshmi Nagar areas — respectively were also found involved in the ration shop scam. However, the party has not initiated action against them on the pretext of investigating the charges.
In the present case, Chakit was arrested along with one other for allegedly kidnapping Ritesh Bansal — owner of a construction business in central Delhi — and demanding ransom of `30 lakh for releasing him. They were nabbed hours after Ritesh was kidnapped by four men.
The other two accomplices are still absconding. According to the police, Ritesh was allegedly picked up by a business associate on August 25 at gun-point and taken to a spot near Rithala Metro Station where the ransom had to be paid. Chakit has been booked under various Sections of the IPC for kidnapping and also under the Arms Act. “Chakit was helping Ritesh in mediation of some business issues,” the FIR said.
However, Chakit has denied all charges saying he is a victim of political conspiracy as his younger brother is an election candidate and the complaint has been lodged against him to defame his family. “The complainant in connivance with other associates has given false and frivolous statements against Chakit,” the counsel said.
In the bail plea, Chakit also alleged that the complainant himself is an accused in IPl spot-fixing case lodged in Mumbai. Seeking bail, the counsel further said that Chakit has been falsely implicated by Ritesh and the court should release him by imposing some condition.
Meanwhile, apart from involvement in criminal and corruption cases, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is also leading in terms of violation of the Model Code of Conduct in the Capital. Out of the total 219 FIRs registered against various political parties, the maximum number of 79 FIRs has been against AAP.
This is followed by 56 cases against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), 53 against the Congress, 21 against the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and 26 against all other political parties.
The cases are registered under various Sections of the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Properties (DPDP) Act, Representation of People (RP) Act and Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act.
“The majority of cases are registered under the DPDP Act, conducting political rallies without permission and violating norms related to loudspeakers and use of vehicles,” an official said.