Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi said on Tuesday that AAP’s Tilak Nagar MlA Jarnail Singh is absconding over his alleged involvement in assaulting an MCD engineer during the demolition of an illegal colony in West Delhi. According to Bassi, Singh had filed an anticipatory bail to avoid arrest but it was “rejected” following which he went into hiding.
“Jarnail Singh’s anticipatory bail was rejected and he is absconding now. I feel that he should surrender before police as soon as possible,” Bassi told reporters. Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to give interim protection against arrest to AAP MlA Jarnail Singh, who was accused of assaulting an MCD engineer and preventing him from demolishing an illegal construction in West Delhi.
A bench of Justice Sunita Gupta while refusing to pass an interim order, issued notice to Delhi Police asking them to file status report on the incident as well as on Singh’s plea seeking anticipatory bail. “Issue notice. let police file its status report by tomorrow,” the court said, adding, “let me have the status report first, then will decide the application.” Singh moved High Court after the trial court on May 2 had declined him anticipatory bail.
An FIR was registered against Singh last week after police received a complaint from SDMC junior engineer Azhar Mustafa in this connection. Mustafa has claimed that when the MlA was shown documents authorising a demolition, Singh tore them up. “One the basis of the complaint, we have registered an FIR under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) at Tilak Nagar police station against Singh,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Pushpendra Kumar had said.
Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said that the “culture of impunity” was on the rise in the Capital since the AAP Government assumed office. “If he has not committed any crime, he should respect the law and surrender before police instead of running away from its grip,” he said.
Several controversies have hit the AAP Government since it stormed to power in February and it has been at loggerheads with police over various issues, including the turf war over probing farmer Gajendra Singh’s alleged suicide. Several FIRs have also been filed against its MlAs, including the Assembly Speaker and AAP legislator from Shahdara Ram Niwas Goel.