Kejri to join probe but wants questioning video recorded

CHIEF SECY ‘ASSAULT’ Police say timing and venue request made by the CM has been accepted

NEWDELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has agreed to join investigation in the case related to the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash.

In a letter, the chief minister, however, requested the police to defer the questioning from 11 am on Friday to 5 pm the same, and asked them to video record the questioning and give him a copy of the tape.

The police had on Wednesday sent the chief minister a notice to join investigation on Friday at 11 am.

In his reply to the station house officer of Civil Lines police station, Kejriwal said he would not be free at 11 am on Friday due to some commitments.

“I would request you to kindly defer the time on the same day at 5pm at my camp office,” he said in a letter on May 16.

“I wish to video record the entire proceedings during the investigation. If you have any objection, then I would request you to kindly make arrangements at your end to video record the same and in such case, a copy of the video recording may be provided after the conclusion of my questioning,” Kejriwal said in the letter.

Officials at chief minister’s office said the police were yet to respond to the CM’S request to videotape the proceeding.

Harendra Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (north), said the timing and venue request of the CM had been accepted.

Singh said the proceedings would be recorded on camera but a call on handing over a copy of the video to the chief minister is yet to be taken. “We will take a call on it based on what the law says,” Singh said.

The chief secretary had alleged he was assaulted by Aam Aadmi Party MLAS in a meeting at Kejriwal’s residence on February 19 night. Two legislators Amantullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal were arrested in the case.

The police had questioned Kejriwal’s former adviser VK Jain and private secretary Vibhav Kumar and some of the 11 MLAS who were present at the meeting in which the alleged attack took place.

I would request you to defer the time on the same day at 5pm at my camp office...i wish to video record proceedings during the investigation. If you (police) have any objection, then I would request you to make arrangements at your end.