Chief Secretary row: AAP MLA questioned for 2 hours, party accuses police of acting in 'partisan manner'

File image of Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash (Pic courtesy: PTI)

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Thursday questioned AAP MLA Rajesh Rishi for two hours in connection with the alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, even as the party accused the force of acting in a "partisan manner" and not taking any action on the alleged attack on AAP minister Imran Hussain.

Two Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs - Nitin Tyagi and Rajesh Rishi - were today summoned by the police for questioning at Civil Lines Police Station by 4 pm.

While Tyagi, the Laxmi Nagar MLA, excused himself saying he was in Kolkata and sought a week's time to appear for questioning, Rishi had failed to reach the Civil Lines Police Station by the stipulated time citing illness, the police said.

He, however, reached the police station at around 6 pm.

Some more AAP MLAs are likely to be summoned for questioning after Holi in connection with the alleged assault on Prakash in presence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on the night of February 19-20, a senior police officer said.

Senior AAP leader Ashutosh accused the police of acting in a "partisan manner" and not taking any step in the case of the alleged attack on minister Imran Hussain at the Secretariat.

"The police acted swiftly in Prakash's case, but failed to do anything about the case filed by Hussain, despite the CCTV footage clearly showing that he was mobbed and assaulted by government officials and staff at the secretariat," he alleged.

Hussain has approached the court, seeking preservation of the CCTV footage when he was allegedly mobbed and assaulted by the officials.

Reading out excerpts of the court order at a press conference, Ashutosh said the judge had observed that the CCTV footage prima facie showed that the minister was surrounded by a "herd of people and thereafter, criminal force was used against him as well as his staff".

"Prima facie, I found merits in the contentions made by the counsel for the applicant (Hussain) as the contents of the FIR show that the minister was going to his office when the alleged incident of criminal restrain, use of criminal force, causing hurt and damaging the belongings took place.

"The CCTV footage shown in the court also clarifies the same," the AAP leader quoted the judge as saying and added, "But the Delhi Police is yet to seize the CCTV footage and examine the witnesses, which shows a conspiracy to destabilise the Delhi government."

Since the alleged assault on the top bureaucrat of the Delhi government, the rift between the officers and the AAP dispensation appeared to deepen with each passing day, with no one from the both sides relenting.

Meanwhile, attacking the Delhi government's bureaucrats, Kejriwal today alleged that some officers were in a "deep nexus" with ration mafia, while Sisodia wondered why Lt Governor Anil Baijal was "protecting" black marketeers.

The accusations came after the AAP government postponed a cabinet meeting, where, Sisodia said, the chief secretary "failed" to bring a note on its ambitious doorstep delivery of ration proposal.

"Nexus betn some bureaucrats n ration mafia is v deep. Many politicians from opposition parties are beneficiaries thro these bureaucrats. Thats the reason for stiff resistance to doorstep delivery of rations (sic)," Kejriwal tweeted.

Environment Minister Imran Hussain, who also holds the charge of food & civil supplies, today issued orders to his departments to submit a report on the current status of proposals and matters every week.

In his order, Hussain, cited Rule 17 of the Transaction of Business of Government of NCT which states that a secretary will submit to the minister a statement on proposals and matters every week.

Amid no signs of a thaw in bitter relation between the AAP dispensation and bureaucracy, Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal had yesterday asked Kejriwal to reach out to officers in public interest.

Since the attack on Prakash, IAS and Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers have only maintaining written communication with Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues, demanding a written public apology from the chief minister and the deputy CM for the incident.

In solidarity with Prakash, all Delhi government employees have been observing a five-minute silence at 1.30 p.M. During lunch break every day outside their respective offices.