Delhi chief secy row: Prakash attacked by blunt weapon; top 10 developments

A Delhi court on Wednesday sent two AAP MLAs -- Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal -- who were arrested on charges of assaulting the Delhi chief secretary -- in judicial custody till Thursday

As the political slugfest over the assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, allegedly by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs, continues, bureaucrats of the Delhi government have formed a coordination committee comprising representatives of all associations and decided to continue their peaceful protest against the incident. Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Wednesday sent two AAP MLAs -- Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal -- arrested on charges of assaulting the Delhi chief secretary -- in judicial custody till Thursday.   

Further, a day after the allegations of assault on Prakash and a Delhi minister's aide in two separate incidents, medical examination reports on Wednesday revealed injuries on both persons. 

For its part, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party has rejected the assault allegation and claimed its two legislators have been targeted because one is a Dalit and the other a member of a minority community.  

Here are the top 10 developments in the political storm that has gripped the capital: 

1) Chief secretary was assaulted with 'blunt' weapon: Medical examination reports on Wednesday revealed injuries on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash and a Delhi minister's aide in two separate incidents.

The chief secretary has alleged that he was beaten up by AAP lawmakers in the presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's official residence, where he had been called for a meeting. On Tuesday, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain was manhandled inside the Delhi Secretariat by a crowd protesting against the alleged assault on the chief secretary. Also, Hussain's additional personal secretary was beaten up, according to multiple video clips from the Secretariat. 

The chief secretary's medical examination report revealed "mild swelling behind both ears" and "bruise over lower lip". The report has termed the nature of injuries as "simple" and the weapon used as "blunt".

Meanwhile, the ministerial aide's medical report shared by a Delhi government spokesperson, revealed "multiple bruises seen all over back, linear in shape". 

2) Two AAP MLAs sent to judicial custody: A Delhi court on Wednesday sent Aam Aadmi Party MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal to judicial custody till Thursday. On Wednesday, Metropolitan Magistrate Shefali Barnala Tandon refused a Delhi Police plea for police custody of Khan and Jarwal and said their bail pleas would be taken up on Thursday.  

While Jarwal was arrested on Tuesday night, Khan surrendered at a city police station on Wednesday. 

3) Bureaucrats to continue boycotting meetings called by Kejriwal, his ministers: Delhi government bureaucrats on Wednesday reiterated that they would continue to boycott meetings called by Arvind Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues till the chief minister apologised for the alleged assault on Prakash. The boycott by the bureaucrats was announced on Tuesday.  

At a meeting on Wednesday, around 200 officers resolved that no official would attend meetings called by the chief minister and his ministers until Kejriwal apologied for the incident. Officers from the IAS (Indian Administrative Service), DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service) and DSSS (Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board) associations also discussed the future course of action.

"At today's meeting, all officers were on the same page that bureaucrats are feeling themselves 'unsafe'," an official said.

The associations at a meeting on Tuesday had passed a resolution saying they would, however, maintain written communications with AAP ministers to ensure there was no disruption in public service delivery. 

4) AAP says Dalit, Muslim MLAs targeted: Calling the alleged assault on Prakash a "conspiracy", the ruling AAP on Wednesday said that its two MLAs -- Prakash Jarwal and Amanatullah Khan -- were arrested in the case without any inquiry because they belonged to the Dalit and Muslim communities, respectively. Based on the allegation of assault made by Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, the two were arrested on the BJP's instructions without being given a chance to state their version, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh told the media. 

Citing examples of Gujarat's Una and Rajasthan's Pehlu Khan case, Singh said under the BJP's rule in various states, Dalits and Muslims were victims of communal violence. Taking a dig at BJP Delhi unit Chief Manoj Tiwari, Singh said: "You call us urban Naxalites (Maoists)? We have never incited any violence (among different communities)."

He said the police ignored the evidence on the attack on AAP Minister Imran Hussain and his personal secretary Himanshu Singh but acted on the statement by the chief secretary. "We have the video footage of what happened at Delhi Secretariat yesterday (Tuesday) when our Minister and his Personal Secretary were attacked by a mob that was incited by the BJP but nothing has been done about it. Words of the Chief Secretary are being treated as gospel truth," he said, adding the top bureaucrat was making "false" allegations.

5) Delhi Environment Minister meets Lt Governor: Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain on Wednesday met Lt Governor Anil Baijal, seeking strong action against those involved in the alleged attack on him and his additional personal secretary at the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday. According to an official, the minister apprised the Lt Governor of the incident seeking action in the matter.  

On Tuesday, Hussain was mobbed by more than a hundred officials and staffers, hours after Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash was allegedly manhandled at the chief minister's residence. An FIR has been registered against unidentified people in connection with the case. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the Delhi Police is yet to take action in the case despite the AAP providing video evidence of the attack.  

6) Anshu Prakash skips meeting, could face action: Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash may face action for not turning up for a Delhi Assembly committee meeting on Wednesday evening.  

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, MLA and AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Chief Secretary and two other IAS officers did not turn up for the Assembly committee meeting in the evening. He said that the committee believes that it was due to the decision taken by the IAS Association.

Bharadwaj said it is "contempt of Assembly" and that the committee is thinking about initiating "contempt proceedings". "Committee members feel that contempt proceedings should be initiated against all these people and against the IAS Association leaders. The committee has not taken a decision yet, but will think about it," Bharadwaj said.

The MLA said that the chief secretary was supposed to come for the meeting at 5 pm, but he and two other IAS officers did not turn up.

7) BJP demands AAP govt's dismissal: Delhi BJP MLAs on Wednesday met Lt Governor Anil Baijal and demanded the "dismissal" of the Arvind Kejriwal government over the alleged assault on Prakash at the chief minister's residence. 

The delegation led by Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta, alleged "complicit connivance" of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia in the incident.

8) MP IAS body demands dismissal of AAP govt: The Madhya Pradesh IAS Officers Association on Wednesday condemned the assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, allegedly by AAP MLAs, at the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. 

The association demanded that criminal cases be registered against those involved and also called for the dismissal of the Kejriwal government. 

9) IRS association of I-T dept demands decisive action: The IRS association of the Income Tax Department on Wednesday sought "quick and decisive" action against the perpetrators of the alleged assault on Prakash. The all-India association of the Indian Revenue Service (I-T) said it was "shocking that such an incident was stated to have occurred at the official residence of the Delhi Chief Minister and carried out by sitting MLAs". 

The IRS association, in a statement, expressed anguish on the alleged assault. "It is a matter of deep concern that if such an episode can happen with such a senior officer in the presence of the CM, then what can be the fate of an ordinary government servant or citizen," general secretary of the association Jayant Misra said in the statement. 

10) Haryana bureaucrats wear black badges: To protest the assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, top bureaucrats in Haryana on Wednesday wore black badges to a meeting with Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. 

At least 46 top most bureaucrats in the Haryana government wore the black badges to protest the assault.  

With agency inputs