New Delhi: The Delhi police on Sunday said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Gautam was the brain behind the posters put across city against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and export of Covid vaccines amid Pandemic, which lead to vaccine shortage.
In an official statement, the Delhi police in a Twitter post said that while Gautam is absconding, his name came up during the questioning of several accused persons.
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"Police while patrolling to enforce lockdown announced by DDMA, created by GNCTD, noticed walls in several areas being defaced by pasting posters. Accused persons on questioning told an AAP member & President of Ward 47, Arvind Gautam was behind it in Mangolpuri. He is absconding," the Delhi police tweeted.
Meanwhile, CM Arvind Kejriwal led AAP has owned up its role behind pasting the posters.
A PTI report quoted senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak saying, "The AAP is behind the posters. Our party workers have been arrested and hundreds are being detained in different parts of the city. We challenge Delhi Police to arrest senior AAP leaders and party MLAs instead of harassing poor people who paste posters for a little money."
So far, the Delhi police have arrested 25 people for allegedly pasting posters in the Mangolpuri area and other parts of the national capital, criticising PM Narendra Modi over Covid vaccine shortage. The posters, with white text on black background, read in Hindi: “Modi ji hamare bachon ki vaccine videsh kyon bhej diya (Why did you send our children’s vaccines abroad?)”.
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On May 12, the police were informed about posters criticising PM Modi were put up across the city. It is being said that police recovered around 800 such posters and banners and removed all of them by May 13. According to a media report, those arrested include a 19-year school dropout, a 30-year e-rickshaw driver, a 61-year-old wage laborer.
The FIRs were registered under sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and other relevant sections, including section 3 of the Prevention of Defacement of Property Act, across various districts of the Delhi Police.