A highly dubious record has now come to rest with the Aam Aadmi Party. 13 of its 67 legislators in Delhi have been arrested since the party came to power last year. AAP obviously cries foul play by the Bhartiya Janata Party, which rules the Centre and controls the Delhi Police, but the voting public is wondering if so many charges and arrests can be made without some ground. And if indeed that is the case, what's going on with AAP legislators?
Kejriwal has recently accused the centre of conspiracy after his name appeared in an FIR registered over alleged irregularities in recruitments at the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).
FIR was drafted in PMO. Even Meena had no knowledge. There's conspiracy to destabilise Del govt. Will expose it in spl assembly session https://t.co/62zTUBieev
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 21, 2016
Here are the 13 AAP legislators who have been arrested so far. The party has responded to nearly every charge saying it's false or concocted.
1. Amanatullah Khan
AAP MLA from Okhla, Amanatullah Khan, was arrested on Wednesday, his second arrest in months, after a complaint from his sister-in-law that the MLA and his brother were harassing her.
Earlier in July, a woman complained to the police that she was threatened with rape and murder by a youth at the MLA's residence when she had gone over to complain of poor electric supply in the area.
Khan, in his defence, said that he had not even met the woman. A video circulated by the party purportedly showed her telling a person that SHO of the Jamia Nagar police station asked her to add allegations of rape and murder to the FIR. Although she herself told the police that Khan did not meet her at that time, she claimed in a recorded statement before the magistrate on July 22 that he tried to mow her down when she was returning from his house.
A fresh FIR was lodged against the MLA, already in jail, for allegedly threatening a group of protestors who had gathered to protest the lack of basic amenities in Okhla. One complainant, Syed Taseer Ahmad, is quoted in the complaint as saying that the MLA used the word: "agar dharna khatam nahi kiya toh tujhe main kaat ke Yamuna mein phenk dunga" (if you do not call off the protest, I will cut you into pieces and throw into the Yamuna)".
2. Somnath Bharti
Lawmaker Somnath Bharti was arrested on Thursday over charges of misbehaving with security guards at Delhi's AIIMS hospital earlier this month. He was released on bail.
Bharti was earlier charged with domestic violence and attempt to murder by his estranged wife Lipika Mitra. Mitra also accused the MLA from Malviya Nagar of setting his dog upon her. He was arrested in September, 2015 and was granted conditional bail.
3. Naresh Yadav
Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav was arrested and sent to two days in custody after he was accused of offering Rs 1 crore to his friend Vijay Kumar in Jind to tear pages from the Quran to spark communal tension in Malerkotla on June 24. Yadav has maintained that he was victim of a political conspiracy. Yadav's lawyer has claimed that police had acted out of malice and that there was no evidence against him. The arrest comes even as the party gears up to fight the Municipal polls in Punjab.
4. Dinesh Mohaniya
It was high drama at AAP MLA Dinesh Mohaniya's press conference when police officials pulled him away in front of TV cameras and members of the Delhi press on charges of molestation and sexual harassment. The complaint followed a similar pattern as that of Amanatullah Khan's. Mohaniya was booked on June 23 after local residents of Sangam Vihar alleged that the MLA and his supporters misbehaved with them when they went to complain about the area's water supply. The arrest led a furious Kejriwal to ask on Twitter if PM Modi has declared an Emergency in Delhi. Mohaniya is out on bail.
5. Manoj Kumar
AAP MLA Manoj Kumar, who was arrested and later released on bail in a case of cheating and land grabbing in July, 2015, faced fresh charges of domestic violence this year. Delhi Commission for Women chairperson, Swati Maliwal, told PTI that the MLA's wife had lodged a complaint of domestic abuse against the MLA from, following which the Kondli MLA appeared before her.
6. Commando Surender Singh
The party continued to suffer embarrassment after its MLA from Delhi Cantonment, Commando Surender Singh, was arrested in August 21, 2015, for allegedly assaulting a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) worker. A group of NDMC staff were on routine inspection in Delhi's Tughlaq road area when one member from the team was allegedly assaulted by Singh for asking to see an e-rickshaw driver's documents. Singh's run-in with the law started in May 2015, when he was accused of faking his Bachelor's degree by his opponent in the polls, BJP's Karan Singh Tanwar.
7. Akhilesh Tripathi
Akhilesh Tripathi, an MLA from Model Town, was arrested in November, 2015, on a case of rioting and criminal intimidation from 2013. The AAP MLA allegedly defied repeated orders for appearance in the case. An NBW was issued against him for failing to appear before the court. He was acquitted after the witness in the case turned hostile.
8. Prakash Jarwal
The MLA from Deoli is the third from the party to be arrested on a molestation charge. An FIR lodged at the Greater Kailash Police Station accused him of misbehaving with a member of the Rashtravadi Janata Party. The victim said she had first approached the offices of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the then police commissioner BS Bassi -- both with a history of confrontation with the AAP -- before filing the FIR. Jarwal said he would 'quit politics' if there was any evidence against him. Incidentally, he was arrested in May 2014 also for allegedly assaulting an engineer of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
9. Jitender Singh Tomar
Jitender Singh Tomar, who has steadfastly maintained he is victim of vendetta politics, was arrested in June, 2015 in a fake degree case, and forced to step down as Delhi's Law Minister. He spent over a month in jail.
10. Mahendra Yadav
The MLA from Delhi's Vikaspuri area was arrested for rioting and assaulting a public servant during a protest after a three-year-old girl was sexually assaulted. Singh allegedly led the mob that set a vehicle on fire and obstructed traffic on the Nihal Vihar-Najafgarh road.
11. Jagdeep Singh
MLA Jagdeep Singh was arrested in May, 2016, for allegedly assaulting the manager of a waste management company, according to reports. He was let off on bail due to a health problem but was called back to complete the legal formalities. In a bizarre twist to the case, the MLA later tweeted that his arrest was just a "rumour", after he visited the police station for the second time.
12. Sharad Chauhan
AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan was arrested by the Delhi Police in August for allegedly abetting the suicide of a woman party volunteer. The woman had consumed a poisonous substance at her home in North-West Delhi's Narela and died during treatment at the LNJP Hospital on July 19.
13. Sandeep Kumar
Former Delhi Minister and AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar was arrested on 3 September after a woman approached the Sultanpuri police station in North Delhi complaining of sexual harassment. The complaint came after a TV channel aired secret video of Kumar having sex with a woman.
Act.