On November 16, Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi’s brother-in-law Om Singh, Tripathi’s Personal Assistant (PA) Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi for allegedly taking bribe for tickets of Municipal Elections in Delhi. They were arrested under relevant sections of the Corruption Act and bribery in elections. As per reports, cash worth Rs 33 lakh was recovered from their possession.
The complainant (Gopal Khari) said that he paid Rs 35 lakh to Akhileshpati Tripathi and Rs 20 lakh to Wazirpur MLA Rajesh Gupta as bribe: ACB officials
— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2022
In its statement, ACB said that they were arrested based on the complaint of one Gopal Khari, a resident of Warn No 69, Kamla Nagar. ACB said, “Anti-Corruption Branch, GNCT of Delhi arrested one Om Singh R/o H-3, First Floor, Type-V, Model Town, Delhi (official residence of MLA Model Town) reportedly brother-in-law of Sh. Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, MLA/Model Town, AAP and his associates, namely Shiv Shankar Pandey, a.k.a. Vishal Pandey, PA of Sh. Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, MLA/Model Town, AAP and Prince Raghuvanshi U/s 7/13 of POC Act and 171 (E) of IPC, i.e. for accepting a bribe for giving an AAP ticket of MCD election to Ms Shobha Khari wife of the complainant Sh. Gopal Khari for Ward No. 69, Kamla Nagar.”
Delhi | A trap at the residence of complainant Khari where accused Om Singh & his associates Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey & Prince Raghuvanshi were present led to their arrest after being caught red-handed pic.twitter.com/st8TeIzTCm
— ANI (@ANI) November 16, 2022
ACP had set a trap at Gopal’s residence where accused Om Singh, Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Rakhuvanshi were present. They were caught red-handed and arrested by the agency.
Rs 90 lakh for a ticket for the wife
In his complaint to the Additional CP, Gopal alleged that on November 9, he went to Akhilesh Tripathi’s office seeking a ticket for his wife. He was told he had to pay Rs 90 lakh for the ticket. “After this, I told him that I needed some time to arrange the money and asked him to arrange a ticket, assuring that I would pay the money even after getting the ticket.”
On November 10, Om Singh went to Gopal’s office and asked him to talk to Tripathi. He added, “On the call, he asked me to give Rs 90 lakh or my wife won’t get a ticket. I asked him to give me some time. I could arrange Rs 25 lakh with the help of my relatives and friends. Then, he called me to a stall and asked me to hand over the money to a man wearing a red shirt. I gave the money while Om Singh was in his car.”
Gopal said he gave another Rs 20 lakh to Rajesh Gupta on November 12. Gopal was allegedly told to arrange the remaining Rs 35 lakh by November 12 after he gets the ticket for his wife. He said, “On November 12, they released the list of candidates, but my wife’s name was not there. Now, Om Singh is telling me to take back the money and has assured me that my wife will get the ticket the next time. They have blackmailed me in the name of giving a ticket.”
He said, “Rajesh Gupta (MLA), Akhilesh Tripathi (MLA), and his brother-in-law Om Singh have misused their power.”
BJP called out AAP over ‘cash for ticket’
Following the arrest made headlines, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party called out AAP and said the party was full of corruption. BJP leader Harish Khurana called it a clear case of ‘cash for ticket’. Pointing towards alleged liquor policy scam and other cases against AAP leaders, he said, “All this shows that AAP is full of corruption and the kingpin is Arvind Kejriwal.”
BJP’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala questioned if Kejriwal would expel the two MLAs involved in the matter. Listing the cases AAP leaders have been allegedly involved in, including liquor policy scam, money laundering, alleged extortion from conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar and others, he said, “It has come to light how Rs 90 lakh were demanded on behalf of MLAs Akhilesh Tripathi and Rajesh Gupta for MCD elections. Rs 35 lakh were already taken. When the ticket was not allotted to the person who had paid the money, he filed a complaint. He has provided audio and video recording in the matter based on which Akhilesh Tripathi’s kin, his PA and another accused were arrested.”
AAP is a Lootera Party
— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) November 16, 2022
After Sharab Loot, Hawala Loot , Bus Loot, Classroom Loot, DJB Loot , Tihar Sukesh Loot now Cash for Ticket loot
Will Kejriwal ji sack the 2 MLAs till a full probe takes place or play victim card!
Not the first time such allegations have been made pic.twitter.com/xm2gRlM1Th
He added similar allegations were made previously by sitting MLA ND Sharma and Adarsh Shastri. He questioned, as arrests have been made in the matter, Kejriwal will expel two MLAs named in the case.
