Shaheen Bagh shooter admitted during probe he had joined AAP: Ranjan

Special Commissioner of Police (Intelligence) Praveer Ranjan on Wednesday said Kapil Baisala who opened fired at the Shaheen Bagh protest site had "admitted during investigation" that he had joined AAP last year.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the pictures purportedly showing him joining the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were in the "public domain" and found during the probe.

"Shaheen Bagh shooter Kapil during police investigation had admitted that he and his father had taken the primary membership of AAP in May 2019," he claimed.

"Anyway, further investigation is on in the case," Ranjan told reporters in response to queries about police mentioning the name of the party with which Baisala has alleged links.

However, Baisala's father Gaje Singh has refuted the police version, claiming his son has no association with AAP.

He added that Baisala doesn't have friends associated with AAP or any other political party.

Singh, a resident of Dallupura village here, said he was a member of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but left politics after losing the 2012 municipal polls here.

Meanwhile, taking a strong view of Delhi Police DCP Rajesh Deo sharing with the media investigation details that linked Baisala to AAP, the Election Commission on Wednesday said his statement was "totally uncalled for" and barred him from election duty.

The EC said Deo's conduct has "consequences" on holding "free and fair elections".

The police officer said they hed seized Baisala's mobile phone and retrieved WhatsApp data.

Deo on Tuesday had said that Baisala and his father had joined AAP in early 2019.

Kapil Baisala's uncle Fatesh Singh told PTI on Tuesday, "I have no idea where these photographs are circulating from. My nephew Kapil had no association with any political party nor does any other member from the family. My brother, Gaje Singh, (Baisala's father) fought assembly elections in 2008 on a Bahujan Samaj Party ticket and lost. After that no one from our family had any links with any political party.