AAP MLA held for contempt

Tripathi in 2-day custody for non-appearance before court

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Akhilesh Tripathi was arrested on Thursday in a 2013 case of rioting and criminal intimidation and sent to judicial custody for two days by a Delhi court. The Model Town legislator has become the fifth MLA of the ruling party to be arrested so far.

The court had earlier issued a non-bailable warrant against the Model Town MLA for his non-appearance before it in the case.

There are as many as 10 cases pending against Mr Tripathi. The AAP government had faced major embarrassment when its former law minister Jitender Tomar, a legislator from Shakur Basti, was sent to jail in connection with his fake academic degree case.

Metropolitan magistrate Kapil Kumar ordered that the AAP MLA, an accused in the 2013 rioting case, be taken into custody while noting his conduct of not complying with the court’s order directing him to appear.

In 2013, an FIR was registered against Mr Tripathi, Rahul Kumar, Vikas Mandal, Inder Vikram Singh and Kanhaiya Kumar Jha for alleged offences under Sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 323 (causing simple hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Vijay Singh said the MLA “has been arrested and taken into custody in pursuance to court order.”

AAP MLA from Kondli, Manoj Kumar, too was sent to jail as well in an alleged cheating and land grabbing case. Even former law minister Somnath Bharti was put behind bars for allegedly harassing his wife.

Another AAP MLA, Surendra Singh, was sent to jail for allegedly assaulting a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) worker, On August 4, Mr Singh was booked for allegedly beating and manhandling an NDMC worker in the Tughlaq Road area when a team of NDMC officials was doing routine check and had apprehended an e-rickshaw driver to check his documents.

According to the police, a case was lodged against Tripathi and four other accused on March 9, 2013 following allegations that on March 8, 2013, they along with other AAP supporters had gathered at G.T. Karnal Road near Lal Bagh Azadpur and entered into a quarrel with complainant Bittu Jha.

The FIR registered at Adarsh Nagar police station in northwest Delhi said that during the altercation, the accused allegedly assaulted the complainant in which he sustained injuries.