AAP's Sanjay Singh meets Delhi police chief, seeks probe into attack on Kejriwal

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh Monday said he met Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and sought a detailed probe into the recent attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow in the New Delhi constituency. During the roadshow on Saturday, Kejriwal was slapped by a man. The AAP has alleged that the BJP is behind the "cowardly act".

Singh said Kejriwal has been attacked nine times and it indicates that a bigger attack on him is impending. In his meeting with Patnaik on Monday, he sought a detailed inquiry. The AAP leader also alleged that Kejriwal was attacked after he publicly questioned ties between Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Singh also questioned the silence of Congress president Rahul Gandhi on the matter. "All opposition parties condemned the attack but Rahul Gandhi was silent. It means both the BJP and the Congress are involved in the conspiracy," he said.

Singh said the AAP has conveyed its concerns to Patnaik in writing. Kejriwal was standing in an open jeep when the accused, identified as Suresh, jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled down.

Delhi police said preliminary interrogation has revealed that Suresh (33) is a scrap dealer in the area, who was an AAP supporter and used to organise rallies and meeting for the party. Suresh told police that over time, he got disenchanted with AAP due to the behaviour of its leaders and he was angered further due to the party's "distrust in the armed forces".

However, Singh, in his letter to Patnaik, said Kejriwal was never disrespectful towards the armed forces so the attacker's reasons do not make sense. It was not the first time that Kejriwal was assaulted during a roadshow or a gathering.

In November 2018, a man tried to smear chilli powder on Kejriwal's face inside Delhi Secretariat. Kejriwal has also been heckled and physically assaulted a lot of times.

In February 2016, some people attacked his car with iron rods and sticks in Punjab's Ludhiana. A month before that, a member of the Aam Aadmi Army, Arjun Arora, threw ink at Kejriwal. During the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, some people threw eggs and ink at Kejriwal and other AAP leaders while they were campaigning in the Varanasi constituency.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)