Delhi Police seizes hard disk from Kejriwal’s residence; CM knocks LG's doors

NEW DELHI: A team of Delhi police has seized a hard disk including CCTV footage from the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in involvement with chief secretary ' s assault. After seizing this hard disk with CCTV footage, Chief Minister knocked the LG ' s door to ensure that the government ' s work was not in progress due to the boycott by bureaucrats. Although, the Centre government has also indicated the Aam Aadmi Party chief (Arvind Kejriwal) might be questioned which is relevant to the chief secretary assault case. A total of 21 CCTV cameras and a hard disk were examined by the police. He also stated that 14 CCTV cameras were working, while seven were not. The hard disk was seized and any possibility of "tampering" with the system could be ascertained only after forensic examinations, Additional DCP (North) Harendra Singh said, adding that there was a time-lag of 40-43 minutes with respect to the time of the alleged incident. The problems of the Aam Aadmi Party government did not end till now as former bureaucrat Dhir Jhingran resigned from its State Advisory Council For Education to express solidarity with Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, who was allegedly physically assaulted by someAam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs. To make things worse for the ruling dispensation, the party ' s legislator from Narela, Naresh Balyan, triggered a fresh controversy by saying officers, who created hurdles in the works meant for people ' s welfare, should be beaten up, days after Prakash alleged that he was assaulted by the AAP MLAs. Meanwhile, Union minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir hinted that Kejriwal might be questioned by the police in connection with the alleged assault on the bureaucrat. The AAP accused the Delhi Police of acting like a bully at the behest of the Centre by "illegally" entering the chief minister ' s house and alleged that the action was aimed at "insulting and humiliating" Kejriwal. Without taking the name of the BJP or its leaders, AAP MP Sanjay Singh said it was "unfortunate" that some "dictators" and people with the mentality of "hooligans" had captured power, be it in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Rajasthan or Madhya Pradesh. At a press conference, the AAP also showed a two-and-a-half-minute clip, in which senior police officials were seen inside the residence of the chief minister, purportedly asking questions about the wall paint of the room. The police claimed that its action came after its request for CCTV footage from the chief minister ' s residence "was not met". The timing of the presence of the chief secretary at the chief minister ' s residence is important because Prakash has claimed that he was called at midnight and assaulted. The AAP, on the other hand, has claimed that Prakash had reached the chief minister ' s residence at 11.25 PM. Meanwhile, Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues met Lieutenant Governor (LG) Anil Baijal and said the latter had assured them that he would take all steps to ensure that the officers started functioning normally. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Baijal had assured them that he would speak to the bureaucrats. However, the LG sent out a very strong statement after the meeting. "The Lt Governor strongly condemned the incidents and termed them as most unfortunate. The Lt Governor noted that no government can fulfil its promises to the people if the employees feel demoralised and insecure. The officers had submitted a memorandum, listing some of their demands, and necessary action would be taken on it, he added. The BJP attacked Kejriwal and said his decision to call the chief secretary at his residence and the alleged physical assault on him was a case of bullying and thuggery.