India

Kejriwal likely to face another FIR in Goa for poll speech

Mayabhushan

In what could potentially spell more trouble for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a Magistrate in Goa on Thursday said that she would pronounce an order vis a vis filing of a First Information Report against Kejriwal, following a petition filed by a deputy collector seeking applying cognisable sections to a complaint filed against the Delhi Chief Minister in January last year, for allegedly exhorting voters in the coastal State to accept money from rival political parties, but vote for AAP instead.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Shantshri Kudchadkar also recorded a statement by deputy collector Gurudas Dessai, who was a returning officer in the February 2017 state assembly elections in Goa, where AAP was contesting in 39 seats.

Kejriwal during an election campaign rally in Mapusa town in January last year, had exhorted voters to accept money from rival political parties, but vote for the Aam Aadmi Party instead.

The court also directed the complainant to attach a CD containing the speech made by Kejriwal along with the complaint.

Following a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the returning officer had filed a complaint with the Mapusa police station, which was registered as a non conisable complaint.

In December last year however, Dessai approached the Court seeking that the non cognisable complaint be upgraded to a First Information Report with cognisable sections 171 B (inducement) and 171 E (bribery) of the Indian Penal Code.