NEW DELHI: AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi was on Thursday questioned for nearly 11 hours by the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch in connection with the MCD polls ticket bribery case, officials said.
During questioning, a senior official said, Tripathi refuted the allegations against him and his associates, including his relative, who were arrested by ACB on Wednesday. The ACB had arrested Tripathi’s brother-in-law and his two associates for allegedly demanding Rs 90 lakh as a bribe for arranging a ticket for the wife of an AAP worker, Gopal Khari, to contest the upcoming Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections. Tripathi was asked to appear before the ACB at 11 am but he reached its office at around 10:30 pm. He left the ACB office at around 9 pm, the official said.
“He was questioned for nearly 11 hours today. He maintained that he and his associates, including his brother-in-law, did not take any money from the AAP worker and that he was impartial,” the official said. The AAP MLA from Model Town claimed to have never met Khari, he said.
“To verify his claims, we will be checking CCTV footage from the house and office of the arrested MLA and his associates,” the official said. The matter came to light on Monday after Khari, who claims to have been associated with the AAP since 2014, approached the ACB with his complaint.