This story is part of
Delhi Chief Secretary 'assault': the story so far
SHOW MORE 13 STORIES

AAP MLAs assaulted me: Delhi Chief Secretary

Rajnath seeks report from L-G; charge ludicrous, says AAP

February 21, 2018 12:02 am | Updated December 04, 2021 11:56 pm IST - NEW DELHI

On the offensive:  Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash leaves after meeting the Lt. Governor in New Delhi.

On the offensive: Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash leaves after meeting the Lt. Governor in New Delhi.

Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash charged Aam Aadmi Party MLAs with staging a “premeditated attack” on him during a late night meeting at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Monday. The Delhi Police have registered an FIR against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan and 11 other MLAs based on Mr. Prakash’s complaint.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the Ministry had sought a report on the incident from the Lieutenant-Governor. Responding to the incident on Twitter, Mr. Singh said he was pained. “Civil servants should be allowed to work with dignity and without fear. Justice will be done. A delegation of IAS DANICS [Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service] & Subordinate Services of Delhi Government met me today and apprised me of the prevailing situation,” he tweeted.

All three Delhi government staff associations have said they will henceforth engage in only written communication with the AAP administration. Describing the Chief Secretary’s charge as “ludicrous” and made at the BJP’s behest, the AAP accused the Home Minister of having “already delivered his verdict” without hearing “the other side.”

Summoned to residence

In his police complaint, Mr. Prakash said he was summoned to Mr. Kejriwal’s residence at midnight to discuss the difficulty in releasing advertisements to mark the AAP’s three years in power. The assault happened in the presence of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 11 other MLAs, with the intention to criminally intimidate and deter him from discharging his lawful duty.

However, the AAP said the meeting was called to discuss the reasons why about 2.5 lakh families had not been able to get their rations under the PDS last month due to faulty implementation of Aadhaar. “CS [the Chief Secretary] refused to answer questions saying he was not answerable to MLAs and CM and that he was answerable only to [the] LG [Lieutenant-Governor]. He even used bad language against some MLAs and left without answering any questions,” an AAP statement read.

At the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon, officials protested the assault on Mr. Prakash. Environment Minister Imran Hussain and AAP leader Ashish Khetan alleged that they were roughed up by the protesting officials.

Chief spokesperson for the Delhi Police Deependra Pathak said, “We have registered two separate cases on the complaints submitted by the Chief Secretary and an AAP MLA [Imran Hussain]. The cases are under investigation.”

Following Mr. Prakash’s complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 186 (obstructing a public servant from performing his duties), 353 (assault on a public servant), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful restraint) 506 (2) (criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) at the Civil Lines police station.

Mr. Prakash said that during the meeting, Mr. Khan and another MLA started hitting him without any provocation. Stating that the MLAs landed several blows on his head and temple, Mr. Prakash said he managed to get out of the room and leave the CM’s residence in his official car.

At a press conference on Tuesday evening, Mr. Sisodia said the allegation was “baseless”.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.