Punjab police to summon AAP MLA

AAP MLA Naresh Yadav is being summoned by the Punjab police in connection with the recent case of desecration of the Quran in Malerkotla, Punjab. The Sangrur police has booked Mr Yadav after the alleged mastermind in the case, Vijay Kumar, revealed to the police that he had committed the act on the direction of the AAP MLA and he had offered him `1 crore for the task.

“We will summon Naresh Yadav to question him regarding the incident; his name came up during the questioning of the main accused,” Sangrur SSP Pritpal Singh said.

A political storm was generated in Punjab as the name of the AAP MLA came up in the case as AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal began his three-day visit to Punjab.

Reacting to these developments, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt. Amarinder Singh said on Sunday, “Since the needle of suspicion now points towards both the Akali-BJP and AAP, it is important that there is a credible probe to find out the actual truth.”

“Given the sensitivity of the matter we need to exercise utmost restraint and caution,” he added, while pointing out at the same time that nobody who was guilty should be allowed to go scot-free. He said that this was a clear act of prov-ocation, done deliberately to hurt the sentiments of a particular community and for vested interests.

However, the AAP called the case a “political conspiracy”. “The Akalis are rattled by the groundswell of support for the AAP in Punjab. They could see that their defeat was imminent in the elections. It is a desperate attempt to defame the AAP... But people can see through the dirty tricks of the Akali Dal and BJP... There is no documentary, audio or video evidence against Naresh Yadav. They are arresting an elected representative without a shred of evidence. The people who were arrested had connections with the RSS and VHP, and they are claiming that the AAP has done it. It’s preposterous,” said Punjab AAP spokesp-erson Himmat Singh Shergill.

In a scathing attack, Sanjay Singh, the AAP Punjab in-charge, said, “Mr Badal has cooked up this case. Dirty politics by the BJP and SAD has begun in the form of conspiracies to frame our MLAs. They are rattled by AAP’s popularity. People will respond to the game being played by the Badals and BJP.”

Mr Singh said that he will meet the Punjab DGP on Monday over the case. Mr Yadav also dismissed Punjab police's claim that he was in touch with one of the accused of the June 24 incident.

The Punjab police had arrested three persons in relation to the desecration case; one of them, Nand Kishore, who was held with his son, Goldy, is a zonal secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Pathankot.