Delhi Police serves notice to Atishi on AAP’s allegations of MLA ‘poaching’
New Delhi: A team of Delhi Police Crime Branch on Sunday visited Finance Minister Atishi’s residence and served her a notice in connection with allegations that the BJP was attempting to “poach” Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.
Sources said that the Delhi minister’s staff have received the notice, after the Crime Branch team visited the AAP leader’s residence for a second time at 12.55 pm on Sunday.
According to the notice, the Crime Branch has asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi to give information on the allegations of poaching levelled against the BJP, given statements by them suggest they were “privy to certain information regarding commission of a cognizable offence”. They have been asked to respond to the notice by February 5.
This comes a day after Crime Branch officials served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP attempted to poach seven AAP MLAs.
Atishi was not present at her residence when the notice was handed over, sources said. Earlier in the day too, police officials had arrived at the minister’s residence but she was not present.
“The team visited again to serve notice to Atishi. The team first visited her house in the morning when she was not present at her residence,” a senior police officer of the Crime Branch said. According to AAP sources, Atishi had given directions to her office staff to receive the notice.
Responding to the notice, AAP leader Jasmine Shah said the notice does not include anything about a summon or an FIR or any section of the IPC or CrPC. “This is just a letter on a white paper,” Shah said.
“Crime Branch officials also reached the residence of Delhi minister Atishi today to serve her a notice. They wanted to give it only to her personally and not to her officials. Should the Delhi ministers always stay at their homes to personally receive each and every delivery?” Shah said, adding that police officers had waited five hours before giving the notice to an official of the CMO.may wish to share or which may be deemed by you to be of any assistance for the enquiry, may either be tendered in writing or can be got recorded by the undersigned on the date and venue mentioned above,” it added. Delhi minister Atishi said the notice served to her by the city police in connection with the MLA poaching allegation made by her does not have any mention of an FIR or include penal provisions.
She said at a press conference that they have sympathy for the Crime Branch officers who are being forced by their “political bosses” to indulge in such “theatrics”.
“Yesterday (Saturday), the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Today, they served a notice to me. However, the notice does not have any mention of an FIR. It does not even include any section of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) or CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) or PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) or Prevention of Corruption Act,” she said.
