NEW DELHI: The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has arrested three people, including the brother-in-law of AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, for allegedly taking money from a party worker to allot him the party ticket for the MCD polls. The three accused men, identified as Om Singh (MLA’s brother-in-law), and his associates Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey (MLA’s PA) and Prince Raghuvanshi, were arrested under sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
A senior ACB official said Gopal Khari, who claimed he’s an AAP worker, approached the agency on November 14 stating that he had requested party Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi to secure a councillor ticket for his wife. According to the ACB official, “The complainant stated that Akhilesh Pati Tripathi demanded a bribe of Rs 90 lakhs for the same. The complainant paid a bribe amount of Rs 35 lakh to Tripathi and Rs 20 lakh to Wazirpur MLA Rajesh Gupta on Tripathi’s instance.”
However, Khari did not find his wife’s name in the list of contesting councillors. “Thereafter, Om Singh contacted the complainant and assured him that the ticket will be given to him in the next elections. He also offered to return his money,” the official said.
Accordingly, based on Khari’s complaint, a team was constituted, which laid a trap at Khari’s residence. Here, the AAP MLA’s brother-in-law Om Singh and his associates Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi were caught red-handed when they were returning the bribe amount of Rs 33 lakh. The bribe amount of `33 lakh was seized by the ACB.
Meanwhile, the AAP called for an unbiased investigation and strict action against those who allegedly misused their position. In his reaction, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, “It is a matter of satisfaction and this incident shows that tickets are not sold by the AAP.”
BJP’s Delhi unit chief Adesh Gupta demanded that AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal immediately expel both Tripathi and Gupta. Delhi Congress on Wednesday said that corruption in the AAP has reached a level that the MCD election tickets were sold to the highest bidder, which was exposed when the brother-in-law of Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi was arrested, along with some of his associates, by the ACB for demanding Rs 90 lakh bribe from a ticket-seeker.
‘Complainant paid bribe to one more AAP MLA’
According to an ACB official, “The complainant stated that Akhilesh Pati Tripathi demanded a bribe of Rs 90 lakhs for the same. The complainant paid a bribe amount of Rs 35 lakh to Tripathi and Rs 20 lakh to Wazirpur MLA Rajesh Gupta on Tripathi’s instance.”