Court summons Kejriwal, Kirti Azad in defamation plea by DDCA

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and suspended BJP MP Kirti Azad were on Monday summoned as accused by a city court in a criminal defamation complaint filed by DDCA and its vice president Chetan Chauhan, observing that their statements prima facie adversely affected the reputation of the cricketing body and its officials.

Metropolitan Magistrate Abhilash Malhotra asked Kejriwal and Azad to appear before the court on February 18, saying it was prima facie clear that the former had made such a “serious defamatory remark” that a DDCA official had sought sexual favours from an unnamed woman for her son’s selection in its cricket team, only on the basis of hearsay information received from his friend.

“Under the aegis of DDCA, hundreds of players are playing cricket. Such a drastic statement and that too from the Chief Minister, may have a negative impact and leave an adverse impression in the mind of cricketers, officials and public at large, impacting reputation of the DDCA, its organisational functioning and the transparency of the selection process. “A person especially holding a constitutional post is reasonably expected to exercise sensitivity and prudence in making discourses and imputations which may have negative impact on the reputation of an institution working in public domain,” the court said.

Chauhan, in his complaint filed through advocate Sangram Patnaik, has claimed that the defamatory statements were made by Kejriwal and Azad, who himself is a member of DDCA, “to remain in public eye and gain political mileage”.

“In an interview to a news channel, Kejriwal had alleged that apart from financial irregularities, there were other major wrong-doings in DDCA, including sex racket.

“Kejriwal had alleged that sexual exchange is sought for by DDCA while making any player play for the team and this amounts to defamation,” the plea alleged, seeking prosecution of Kejriwal and Azad.

Regarding Azad, the court said it was prima facie clear that he had also levelled disparaging allegations against DDCA and its officials alleging selection of players in consideration of sexual favours. GURUGRAM: Gone are those days when robberies in Gurugram were associated with either criminal gangs or domestic helps working in the posh colonies and condominiums of the city.

Here is a new twist! Now, even affluent and educated youth of the Millennium City are indulging in high-scale robberies. Recent arrests in cases of theft have shown youngsters in the age group of 18 -22 years committing thefts from snatching to stealing vehicles. Moreover, these youngsters are educated and belong to affluent households.

Based on police sources, most of the youth who are committing heist in the city are doing so for the sake of adventure and making a quick buck. Police sources reveal since these youngsters are not known criminals, cops can catch them only after a few robberies.

Moreover, police sources also highlight that these youngsters have devised unique ways of committing the acts of robbery and being successful at it. A group of young robbers who were recently arrested by Gurugram Police used one such methodology.

In the process of committing the robbery, while one robber used to flash his motorcycle headlight on the face of the victim, another robber came from behind and committed theft by snatching.

Another robber named Jitendra who was recently arrested by the police is the husband of a sarpanch (village head). Jitendra along with his colleagues used to hold a survey of posh neighbourhoods in the city and commit burglary at the houses.

Upon being arrested, Jitendra did not only possess stolen expensive electronic items but also items like gas cylinders and undergarments. With the number of young robbers increasing in the city, cases of expensive vehicles being stolen for the scrap parts to be sold are rising too.

Recently, a group of five youngsters who were barely in their 20’s were arrested after they had stolen a car from a person in Palam Vihar.

These youngsters possessed illegal weapons like guns and knives which were used to scare people.

“Young robbers have now become a big challenge for the Gurugram Police. Most of these people do not have criminal records and do it merely for fun and adventure to begin with. As they become successful, it becomes a habit till they are caught,” said a senior police officer.

“Money is not the main criteria for these young robbers. A group of young robbers we arrested had stolen an expensive bike of Rs, 60,000 and sold it at as low as Rs 5,000,” added the cop.