Shaheen Bagh shooter Kapil Gujjar has reportedly admitted to the Delhi Police that he joined Aam Aadmi Party in early 2019. The police also claimed to have recovered around 10-12 photos of Kapil with several senior AAP leaders from his mobile phone. The revelation has been made by the Crime Branch of Delhi that is interrogating Kapil who had fired shots at Shaheen Bagh, earlier this week.
The AAP, however, said it will try to ascertain whether Kapil had any connection with the party. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "There is no point in releasing such photographs. This is a part of BJP's dirty politics. Crime should be investigated and stern action should be taken against the culprit."
Singh said that his party will also move the Election Commission seeking action against Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Rajesh Deo for naming AAP in the matter. "When elections are on cards, how can the DCP malign the name of any party," he added.
The disclosure by the police about Kapil’s alleged links with AAP comes just four days before the Assembly elections in Delhi, in which the 50-day protest at Shaheen Bagh against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act has become a key issue.
Late in the evening, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar criticised the AAP for allegedly playing "politics of violence" to "divide" the society. "Now, it is clear that the person who fired was from AAP. They are creating tension in the city. They stand totally exposed."
Mr Deo said that Kapil has revealed that his father Gaje Singh was also an AAP member and that both of them had joined the party in 2019. Kapil's father had earlier contested the MCD election in 2012 on a BSP ticket. In the photos, accessed from a phone by the police, Kapil can be seen with senior leaders of the party like Sanjay Singh and Aatishi along with his supporters . A senior police officer said that the Crime Branch has also told the court about Kapil his father’s connection with the AAP.
Kapil had fired two or three times in the air, standing near the spot where hundreds of women and children were sitting in Shaheen Bagh on February 1. A big crowd of unarmed men, women and children were standing nearby. Eyewitnesses said when his gun jammed, he tried to run but was caught. While being led away, he was heard saying: "Humare desh mein sirf Hinduon ki chalegi aur kisi ki nahi (in our country only Hindus will prevail)." He was later taken in police custody for two days for questioning.
Kapil's family, however, refuted the police's claim.
Kapil 's uncle Fatesh Singh said, "I have no idea where these photographs are circulating from. My nephew Kapil had no association with any political party nor does any other member from the family is. My brother Gaje Singh, (Kapil's father) fought Assembly elections in 2008 for Bahujan Samaj Party and lost. After that no one from our family had any links with any political party".