Naresh Yadav's bail plea rejected in Quran desecration case

A Punjab Court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Yadav in connection with the alleged Quran desecration case.

The Mehrauli MLA was earlier on Wednesday sent to judicial custody till August 1.

Yadav, who was earlier on July 25 sent to two-day police custody, was arrested on the charge of conspiracy to spread social unrest as he allegedly prompted desecration of the holy Quran on June 24.

Before being arrested, Yadav had asserted that he would cooperate with the police in the investigation.

Yadav was booked under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) after one of the accused, Vijay Kumar, arrested in connection with the incident claimed that he had done it at the behest of the AAP MLA.

The AAP MLA, who has been questioned twice earlier in connection with this case, has so far refuted all charges.

The Mehrauli MLA has alleged it to be a 'political conspiracy' to malign the party's image ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls.

Tension flared in the area during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan as news spread that torn pages from the Quran were found in a drain in front of a cemetery.

Earlier, AAP spokesperson Ashish Khetan had landed in trouble when he compared the party's manifesto to the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the religious scripture of the Sikhs.