'Undesirable', observes EC on DCP Rajesh Deo's public statement on Shaheen Bagh shooter

The Election Commission (EC) on Wednesday wrote to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik flagging the "undesirable public statement" made by DCP Crime Branch Rajesh Deo regarding the Shaheen Bagh gunman, and directed the city police chief to keep Deo away from any poll-related duties.

In the letter, the poll panel states, "A warning shall be issued to Rajesh Deo and it shall be ensured that he is not assigned any work related to Delhi elections."

The action against Deo comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said it will file a complaint with the poll body and send a legal notice to Deo for claiming that the gunman, identified as Kapil Gurjar, who fired shots in Shaheen Bagh on February 1 was a member of AAP.

Deo had on Tuesday told media that photographs recovered from Kapil's phone show him and his father in the company of prominent leaders of AAP."We recovered the pictures from his phone during the course of the investigation. Kapil has confessed that he and his father joined AAP somewhere between January-February 2019," the police officer had said.