Punjab court rejects bail plea of Delhi AAP MLA

Chandigarh: A court in Punjab on Thursday rejected the bail plea of Naresh Yadav, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from Delhi.

Yadav was arrested by Punjab Police on Sunday in connection with a Quran sacrilege incident last month in the Muslim-dominated Malerkotla town, nearly 100 km from Chandigarh.

Yadav, through his counsel, had sought bail on the plea that he had cooperated during investigation and was willing to make himself available to the investigators in future also.

The court had on Wednesday sent Yadav to judicial custody till August 1. On Monday, the court sent Yadav in two days in police custody.

The Punjab Police arrested the AAP legislator at his Delhi office. The arrest came after the Malerkotla court issued arrest warrants against him.

The police had questioned Yadav for over eight hours on July 9 in connection with the desecration incident on June 24.

The AAP lawmaker was booked as a "mastermind" in the sacrilege conspiracy following alleged revelations by the main accused, Vijay Kumar, who claimed he was paid Rs 1 crore by Yadav for the act.