AAP MLA absconding, says Bassi
Delhi police commissioner B. S. Bassi on Tuesday said that the AAP legislator from Tilak Nagar, Jarnail Singh, is absconding over his alleged involvement in assault on an MCD engineer during the demolition of an illegal colony in west Delhi.
According to Mr Bassi, Mr Singh had filed an anticipatory bail to avoid arrest, but it was “rejected” following which he went into hiding.
“Jarnail Singh’s anticipatory bail was rejected and he is absconding now. I feel that he should surrender before the police as soon as possible,” Mr Bassi said.
A bench of Justice Sunita Gupta refused to pass an interim order, but issued a notice to the Delhi police asking it to file status report on the incident as well as on Mr Singh’s plea seeking anticipatory bail. “Issue notice. Let the police file its status report by tomorrow,” the court said, adding, “Let me have the status report first, then will decide the application.”
Mr Singh, the AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar, moved the high court after the trial court on May 2 had declined to give him anticipatory bail.
An FIR was registered against Mr Singh last week after the police received a complaint from SDMC junior engineer, Azhar Mustafa, in this connection. Mr Mustafa has claimed that when Mr Singh was shown documents authorising a demolition, Mr Singh tore them up.
“One the basis of the complaint, we have registered an FIR under IPC Sections 186 ( Obstructing public servant in discharge of duty) and 353 ( assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) at Tilak Nagar police station against Singh,” deputy commissioner of police ( West) Pushpendra Kumar had said.
Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay said that the “culture of impunity” was on the rise in the capital since the AAP government assumed office. “If he has not committed any crime then he should respect the law and surrender before the police instead of running away from its grip,” he said.
Several controversies have hit the AAP government since it stormed to power in February and it has been at loggerheads with the police over various issues including the turf war over probing farmer Gajendra Singh’s alleged suicide. Several FIRs have also been filed against its MLAs, including the Assembly Speaker and AAP legislator from Shahdara Ram Niwas Goel.