The Delhi Police is gearing up to file chargesheets in a large number of cases pending against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Transport Minister Gopal Rai, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Deputy Speaker Bandana Kumari, and 17 other AAP MlAs in the national Capital. The list also includes three former Ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rakhi Birlan and Somnath Bharati.
Kejriwal alone is facing 47 charges in 15 cases pending in different police stations. The charges range from causing voluntarily hurt to obstructing public servants from performing their job, rioting and defamation cases. If proven guilty, these charges can attract imprisonment ranging from one month to three years.
A highly placed source said that the police will first speed up cases against those AAP leaders who have been facing serious charges. This is also the first occasion when any single party has as many as 22 MlAs facing cases against them. Meanwhile, the AAP has written a letter to the Delhi Police seeking details of cases registered against its party members.
Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi, however, denied having any knowledge of the chargesheets against the AAP MlAs. “What you have come to know is not known to me,” he said in a reply to a question on the chargesheets. But he added that “in pending cases our objective is to complete the investigations at the earliest and bring the facts before the court.”
Reacting to the media reports, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said this was nothing, but an act of “cowardice” and the Delhi Police and the Centre shouldn’t treat the AAP as a “soft target”. “The Delhi Police and its Commissioner should understand that whoever violates law in the Modi Government goes to jail. He should look at what happened to IAS and IPS officers in the State. If there are charges against any of us, then they are free to register cases. But don’t look at AAP as a soft target,” Singh said.
Another senior AAP leader Ashutosh alleged that to divert attention from the Sushma Swaraj-lalit Modi issue, the Modi Government was planting stories against the AAP.
“To divert attention from Sushma, story of 21 AAP MlAs to be arrested is planted by Modi Government. Gullible TV channels are gleefully running. “My name is missing in the list of people to be arrested by Delhi Police. Many cases against me also. Feeling left out and unimportant(sic),” he tweeted.
A local leader said that majority of these cases had been filed while these AAP leaders had been holding protests concerning public issues. He said that the Delhi Police was going after AAP legislators on the behest of the BJP-led Government at the Centre to score political points. But a senior police officer said that his force was only following the law. “Everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. We have no vendetta against anyone. We are simply doing our duty.”
Sisodia has been facing 33 charges in 14 cases. His senior Cabinet colleague, Rai too has 10 cases pending against him. There are 11 charges pending in 10 cases against Goel. But his deputy, Bandana Kumari, has only one case under the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, 2007, pending against her in a city court. Janakpuri MlA Rajesh Rishi has already been fined in several cases related to defacement of public properties.
Bharati, who hogged the limelight after his wife filed a complaint of domestic violence against him, has six other cases pending against him.
Even Birlan, who hogged the limelight after her sister-in-law complained that her husband was committing domestic violence, has three cases pending against her. But there is just one case pending against Bharadwaj.
Model Town MlA Akhilesh Tripathi has as many as 10 cases pending against him. An equal number of cases are also pending against Tilak Nagar legislator Jarnail Singh. Even Hari Nagar MlA Jagdeep Singh has nine cases against him.
While Tuglakabad MlA Sahi Ram has 12 charges pending against him in 9 cases, Ballimaran legislator Imran Hussain has six cases lodged against him. There are three cases pending against Okhla MlA Amanuallh Khan and Deoli legislator Prakash. Adarsh Nagar MlA Pawan Kumar Sharma has two cases pending against him. Other MlAs having just one case pending against them are Col. Devinder Sherawat of Bijwasan, Dinesh Mohaniya of Sangam Vihar, Gulab Singh of Matiala, Naresh Bhaliyan of Uttam Nagar, and Jarnail Singh of Rajouri Garden. Bhaliyan too had hit the headlines after the police raided one of his premises and seized a large quantity of liquor just before the Delhi Assembly elections.