NEW DELHI: The Janata Durbar had a security scare after a mosque’s caretaker was found to be carrying a bullet in his wallet when he visited Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ,’s residence in Civil Lines.
Monday’s security scare came less than a week after a man was arrested for attacking Kejriwal with chilli powder outside his office at the Delhi Secretariat.
Mohammad Imran, 39, a caretaker of Masjid Bawli Wali mosque in Karol Bagh, is a resident of Seelampur area in northeast Delhi, the police said. He had arrived along with a delegation of 12 other maulvis and imams at Kejriwal’s residence on Monday to seek increase in salary of the Delhi Waqf Board staff. The bullet was found when a security guard frisked Imran during a security check.
“A live cartridge of .32 bore was recovered from his wallet during search and frisking by a security officer at the CM’s residence after which he was handed over to the police,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, North, Nupur Prasad said.
Imran was arrested and a case was registered against him under the Arms Act at the Civil Lines police station.
Interrogation of the man revealed that the man had found the bullet inside a donation box of the mosque some two-three months ago. He told the police that he had planned to throw the bullet in the Yamuna river, but did not do so and kept it in his wallet.
"It is a very serious matter that a man carrying a live cartridge managed to reach the chief minister at his Janta Darbar. We appeal to the Centre to set aside petty politics and pay attention to his security," AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said.
The AAP leaders noted that last week a man had attacked Kejriwal at the Delhi Secretariat by throwing chilly powder on him.
They also alleged that Delhi BJP unit chief Manoj Tiwari "along with his goons had tried to hurt Kejriwal during the inaugural of the Signature Bridge".
Bhardwaj also alleged that the Delhi Police was not paying attention to the attacks on Kejriwal.
He said no charge sheet was filed in an attack on the AAP chief at Chhatrasal stadium.
A woman had thrown ink at him during an event at the stadium in January 2016.
Reacting to the development, the Delhi BJP unit chief said, "If anybody wanted to kill, he would carry a firearm not merely a bullet.
It is all a ploy of Arvind Kejriwal to distract attention from failures of his government and he is coming out with these dramatic things quite regularly as elections are nearing".
The Delhi BJP legislators also sought a detailed probe into the chilly powder attack on the chief minister.
The MLAs met Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik and submitted a memorandum.
They demanded the arrest of an aide of Kejriwal, who, they alleged, facilitated the entry of the man who threw chilly powder on the chief minister at the secretariat here last week.
"It is surprising that the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and the AAP have not filed a complaint. Do the CMO and AAP have nothing to do with the safety and security of the chief minister?" Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said.
"The high voltage drama by the AAP in Delhi smells of a conspiracy to play the victim card over the issue," he said.
Gupta alleged there were "discrepancies in the allegations of the Delhi government, Home Minister Satyendar Jain and the AAP, and still the BJP was being targeted over the issue, although the police interrogation of accused (Anil Sharma) revealed that he had no affiliation with the (BJP) party".
On Monday, Kejriwal had blamed the BJP for the attack on him at the Secretariat as, he claimed, the party was "baffled" by the "good work" done by his government. “Narendra Modi should resign if he cannot protect Delhi's chief minister," he had said on the first day of the Delhi Assembly’s special session. “They all want to kill me. There is hardly any CM, who has been attacked four times in two years. I have become eyesore for them."