The Delhi Police on Tuesday opposed the bail application of Suresh Chauhan, accused of slapping Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on the grounds of insufficient paperwork. Following this, his judicial custody was extended by a day, said officers.
A senior officer said the papers submitted by Suresh had an address where he had not stayed in the past 10 years, and “surety’s address was not verified”.
Suresh was sent to two-day judicial custody on Sunday after a case was registered against him on charges of causing hurt. The slapping incident happened during Mr. Kejriwal’s roadshow in West Delhi’s Moti Nagar on May 4 evening.
During interrogation, Suresh had allegedly told the police that he was a supporter of AAP but got disenchanted because of the “behaviour and arrogance” of its leaders. On the other hand, Mr. Kejriwal said the attack was a conspiracy by the BJP.
However, the police claimed that after local enquiry by registered AAP workers, it was found that Suresh was not a registered worker but helped the party in organising rallies and public meetings.
AAP on Tuesday maintained that Suresh is not associated with the party. A video accessed by The Hindu showed Suresh attending a West Delhi AAP event in March wearing an AAP sash.
“If someone wears a topi [cap] and sash, will he become an AAP worker? If he is seen in high-security zones, then it was the duty of the police to do the checks,” said AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai. He denied any links of the accused with the party.
‘Lies after lies’
“If police are saying that he was organising rallies then they should also specify which team he was part of. There is only one team of the CM and he was not part of it. By telling lies after lies, the truth cannot be concealed. The entire incident was BJP’s agenda,” Mr. Rai said.
He added that the incident was a conspiracy, “Many people are unhappy with Prime Minister Narendra Modi but no one is hitting him”.
Suresh’s wife had said that he is a Modi bhakt . This is misuse of power [by the BJP],” he added.
Delhi BJP Spokesperson Harish Khurana said, “It is shocking how Deputy Cheif Minister Manish Sisodia reached a conclusion within half-an-hour of the incident that the attack was conspired by BJP and Mr. Modi and, Amit Shah. I plan to send him a legal notice on the same.”
