Delhi Police, on Tuesday, 20 November, arrested the man accused of attacking Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with chilli powder.
The accused, identified as Anil Kumar, allegedly threw chilli powder at Kejriwal outside the CM’s office in the secretariat at 2:30 pm on Tuesday, when Kejriwal was leaving for lunch. Kumar was immediately taken into custody.
The case has been taken up for investigation by Delhi Police, because the accused had threatened the chief minister. He has been detained for further questioning.
A joint interrogation conducted by IB, Special Cell and local police revealed that the accused was unstable and incoherent, an official told PTI.
After a preliminary enquiry was conducted, a cognisable offence prima facie was ruled, after which a case under IPC Sections 186 ( obstructing public servant in discharge of duty), 506 (criminal intimidation), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) was registered, the officer said.
According to ANI, Kumar handed a note to the CM and touched his feet when the chilli powder packet fell from his hand. A probe is underway to see whether it was an attack or the powder fell unintentionally, Delhi Police said.
Confirming the incident, the Aam Aadmi Party on Twitter remarked, “Even the Chief Minister is not safe in Delhi.”
Congress, BJP Condemn the Attack
The Congress party condemned the attack. The party national spokesperson, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, said:
“Everyone should condemn such a disgusting act; koi bhi vyakti, kaisa bhi ho unke ke khilaaf ye sab nahi kar sakte.”Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Congress spokesperson
The BJP also condemned the attack saying such acts are not acceptable. According to IANS, Delhi BJP Chief Manoj Tiwari said such acts are "not acceptable" and the person who has been arrested should be thoroughly interrogated.
“Heard that someone has thrown chilli powder on Kejriwal. I condemn it.”Manoj Tiwari, Delhi BJP President
Not the First Attack Against Kejriwal
The Delhi CM is no stranger to such attacks. In 2014, while campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections, Kejriwal was slapped by an auto rickshaw driver who had garlanded the AAP chief before attacking him.
Two years later, a woman named Bhavna Arora had thrown ink at the CM during a rally in Delhi following the completion of the AAP government’s odd-even scheme.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)