Another Delhi legislator arrested, AAP targets Modi

Another AAP legislator, Sharad Chauhan, was arrested along with five others here on Sunday in connection with the suicide of a woman party worker, prompting an angry outburst by Delhi's ruling party against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The woman, Soni, committed suicide on July 19 after being allegedly harassed by Ramesh Bhardwaj, a supporter of Chauhan.

Those arrested include a suspended Assistant Sub-Inspector in Delhi Police, Mukhtiyar Singh, who was probing the harassment case filed by Soni against Bhardwaj. The others were identified as Rajnikant, Amit Bharadwaj, Mohan Verma and Sanjay, a police spokesman said.

Chauhan's arrest prompted an angry reaction from AAP leader Ashutosh who wondered if Modi had "lost his mental balance".

In a series of tweets, Ashutosh attacked Modi over the arrests of AAP MLAs.

"Another AAP MLA arrested. Has Modi gone mad? Has he lost his mental balance? If PM acts with such anger/vengeance, then is country safe," he asked.

With the arrest of Sharad Chauhan, the total number of AAP legislators arrested so far has become 12.

The other AAP MLAs arrested are Amanatullah Khan, Prakash Jarwal, Dinesh Mohaniya, Jagdeep Singh, Mahendra Yadav, Akhilesh Tripathi, Somnath Bharti, Surinder Singh, Manoj Kumar, Jitender Singh Tomar and Naresh Yadav.

All but Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav, who was arrested by the Punjab Police in connection with the alleged sacrilege incident which took place on June 24 in Malerkotla, Punjab, are out on bail.

Khan, MLA from Okhla, was arrested by the Delhi police after a woman alleged he threatened to mow her down after she visited his residence to raise the issue of power cuts.

Deoli MLA Jarwal was arrested for allegedly misbehaving and assaulting a woman. Mohaniya, MLA from Sangam Vihar constituency, was arrested on charges of assaulting a woman. Jagdeep Singh from Hari Nagar constituency was arrested for allegedly assaulting the manager of a waste management company.

Vikaspuri MLA Mahendra Yadav was arrested under various charges, including rioting and assaulting a public servant during a protest, while Model Town MLA Tripathi was arrested on charges of rioting and criminal intimidation.

Bharti, an MLA from Malviya Nagar constituency, was arrested in connection with a domestic violence and attempt to murder case lodged by his wife.

Surinder Singh, MLA from Delhi Cantonment assembly constituency, was arrested for allegedly assaulting an employee of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation. Manoj Kumar, an MLA from Kondli constituency, was arrested in a case of alleged cheating and land grabbing, while Tomar, MLA from Tri Nagar constituency, was accused of cheating, forgery, forgery with the purpose of cheating and criminal conspiracy.

Ashutosh said that instead of appreciating the "great job" done by the AAP government in Delhi, Modi was arresting its legislators.

"Great initiatives are taken by Delhi government in education and health. Instead of praising (them), Modi is sending AAP MLAs to jail. Is (the) country safe in his hands?"

--IANS

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