AAP MLA Gulab Singh Yadav held from Gujarat

AAP MLA and party’s Gujarat affairs in-charge Gulab Singh Yadav on Sunday surrendered before Surat police and was arrested by the Delhi police after a non-bailable warrant was issued against him in connection with an extortion case.

Mr Yadav’s arrest has come hours ahead of Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal public rally in the city. “Delhi police had come here with a non-bailable warrant against Gulab Singh. He learnt about it before hand and came to Urma police station where we handed him over to the Delhi police,” Surat police commissioner Satish Sharma said. Mr Yadav is the 13th MLA from the AAP to be arrested.

The Delhi police will take Mr Yadav to a court to secure a transit remand. Before leaving for Umra police station to surrender, Mr Yadav told reporters at the circuit house, “I have learnt that a Delhi police team has come to Surat to arrest me. So I am going to Umra police station to court arrest and ask the Delhi police to pick me from there.”

“I am in Gujarat since September 6 and I was here when the FIR was filed on September 13. The police raided my office and got nothing incriminating. The Centre is directing arrest of AAP MLAs but we are not going to bow down and are ready for any consequences,” he alleged.In September, two property dealers, Deepak Sharma and Rinku Diwan, had alleged that Satish and Devinder, who work in Mr Yadav’s office, and an associate Jagdish, were extorting money from them by threatening to get demolished the building from where they were operating.

A case under Section 384 (punishment for extortion) of the IPC was registered at Bindapur police station on September 13.

Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal, who is on a four-day visit to Gujarat, alleged while talking to reporters in Vadodara before leaving for Surat that BJP president Amit Shah was trying to disrupt the rally. “I appeal to Amit Shah ji that this is not my rally but that of the public ... You see 13 MLAs have been arrested by the Delhi police on the direction from the BJP,” he said. Confirming the MLAs arrest, Delhi joint commissioner of police Deependra Pathak said, “He will be brought back to Delhi today to join the probe in the FIR of extortion in which he has also been named.” The non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued against Mr Yadav, who is MLA from Matiala, on October 14 for allegedly not joining probe in the case. Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, who is attending the AAP rally in Surat, said Mr Yadav’s arrest was a turning point in Gujrat politics.