AAP MLA sent to judicial custody

MALERKOTLA: A local court sent Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Naresh Yadav to judicial custody till August 1 on Wednesday in connection with the June 24 Quran sacrilege incident.

The Punjab Police had arrested the AAP legislator from Mehrauli area in the Capital on Sunday. The arrest came after the Malerkotla court issued arrest warrants against Yadav. The AAP lawmaker was booked as a "mastermind" in the Quran sacrilege conspiracy following alleged revelations by one of the accused arrested in the case.

Main accused Vijay Kumar, who claimed he was paid `1 crore by Yadav for the act, recorded his statement last week before a magistrate. Yadav claimed that he had nothing to do with the incident and was being falsely implicated for political reasons in view of assembly elections in Punjab which are likely to be held in February next year.

Yadav’s counsel and AAP leader Himmat Singh Shergill said police’s request for extension in remand for three more days was dismissed by the court. Shergill alleged that police were torturing Yadav in custody. He said police have already grilled him more than enough and they don’t have any strong evidence. He said, merely on the basis of an allegation by an accused, police have sought arrest warrant and arrested the MLA