Delhi Police on Tuesday said that Kapil Baisala, who allegedly opened fire at the Shaheen Bagh protest site on February 1, is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The announcement kicked off a political storm with the BJP accusing AAP of “selling the security of the country for political gains”.
AAP has said that it will inquire into whether Mr. Baisala is part of the party.
DCP (Crime) Rajesh Deo said that Mr. Baisala and his father had joined AAP in early 2019. He said that the police had recovered pictures from his phone — seized for the probe — in which the accused can be seen with senior AAP leaders.
“We have retrieved WhatsApp data and photos of him and his father Gaje Singh joining AAP. He had deleted these pictures but with technical help, the photos were recovered,” Mr. Deo said, adding that Mr. Baisala has admitted to joining AAP.
Mr. Baisala’s family, however, has refuted the police’s claim. “I have no idea where these photographs are from. My nephew had no association with any political party,” said Fatesh Singh, uncle of the accused.
Legal notice
Meanwhile, AAP has said that they will send a legal notice to the DCP for taking the party’s name without the Election Commission’s permission and “influencing” the Assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held on Saturday.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused Mr. Deo of being a BJP spokesperson and said that the party will complain to the EC to find out on “whose permission the officer took the party’s name”.
“As per EC rules, no official can take the name of any political party, which can influence the election, without permission of the poll panel. He [the DCP] did not have permission from the EC. He had permission from [Home Minister]Amit Shah, he had permission from the BJP," Mr. Singh said.
On whether Mr. Baisala is an AAP member, Mr. Singh said: “Let us first inquire whether they [accused shooter and his father] are part of the party or whether they were part of the party and then joined any other party after it. I do not know their status, let us check it first.”
The pictures retrieved from the phone allegedly show Mr. Baisala and his father in the presence of several AAP leaders, including Atishi and Mr. Singh.
During interrogation, it was revealed that on February 1, Mr. Baisala, along with his friend Sarthak Larolla, had gone to Shaheen Bagh on a bike. When they reached the protest site, Mr. Larolla left with the bike and Mr. Baisala's phone.
Later, Mr. Baisala fired two rounds in the air and was apprehended. The weapon was also recovered. Mr. Larolla joined the investigation and the mobile phone was recovered from his residence.
The police said his father had unsuccessfully fought two municipal polls from Jangpura and Patparganj on the Bahujan Samaj Party ticket in 2008 and 2012.
Meanwhile, BJP national president J.P. Nadda alleged that both the country and the Capital had now seen the “ugly face” of AAP.
“For political motives, Mr. Kejriwal and his people have sold the security of the country. Earlier, Mr. Kejriwal used to insult the Army and argue in favour of terrorists but today his connections with those terrorist activities have surfaced,” he alleged.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said: “It is clear that AAP’s design is to allure votes of one community and defame another community. They have instigated the youth to incite violence.”
Custody extended
Meanwhile, a local court on Tuesday extended by two days the police custody of Mr. Baisala. The Delhi police have submitted that the incident could be a part of a larger conspiracy. “The time and place of the incident clearly indicates that the incident is part of a larger conspiracy, which is to be unearthed,” the investigating officer said.