The controversy over Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash’s alleged assault by Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers took a new turn on Thursday with the Chief Minister’s adviser V.K. Jain reportedly stating that he had seen Mr. Prakash being manhandled.
Special Public Prosecutor in the case Atul Srivastava, appearing before the court of metropolitan magistrate Shefali Barnala Tandon, cited the recording of Mr. Jain’s statement before the magistrate, wherein he admitted to the Chief Secretary being assaulted at a late-night meeting at the Chief Minister’s residence on February 19.
Earlier, the police informed the court that they had recorded the statement of Mr. Jain, a retired IAS officer, as an eyewitness under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. A statement under this section is admissible as evidence in the trial of a case.
Judicial custody
The statement has been kept in a sealed cover in the court and will be opened at the time of the trial. However, a copy of it was made available to the police. On the basis of this statement, the police moved a fresh application seeking police remand of the two MLAs, Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal. The judge, however, remanded the MLAs in judicial custody for 14 days.
