Court sends AAP MLA to one day's police custody

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, arrested for allegedly threatening a woman after she visited his residence to raise the issue of power cuts, was today sent to one day's police custody by a Delhi court.
Metropolitan Magistrate Sheetal Chaudhary Pradhan extended by a day the custodial interrogation of the Okhla MLA, who was produced in court amid heavy security.
"Submissions heard. Record perused. In view of the submission made by the parties and considering that offence under section 308 of IPC (attempt to commit culpable homicide) is alleged, I am of the view that the accused be remanded to police custody for one with direction to cooperate in the investigation," the magistrate said.

The court passed the order on the application moved by the police seeking a two-day remand of Khan claiming that accused was not cooperating in the investigation.
Opposing the plea, senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for Khan, submitted that initially in the FIR, bailable offences were alleged and section 308 IPC was invoked later on the basis of the complainant's statement which was an improvement.
Khan, also the chairman of the Delhi Waqf board, was first detained for questioning and then arrested, a day after he alleged in a press conference that the woman was "pressurised" by police into giving a false statement against him.

According to police, on July 22, the woman had recorded her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC.

She had alleged while she was returning from the legislator's residence, a vehicle tried mowing her down and Khan was sitting in it.
Prior to that, she had on July 19 filed a complaint with police alleging that at the AAP MLA's residence in Jamia Nagar, a youth had on July 10 abused her and threatened that she would be killed if she did not stop politicising the matter.
An FIR was subsequently registered in this regard under section 506 (criminal intidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC.

After her statement to the magistrate, Section 308 was added to the FIR, a police officer said.
The woman, a resident of Jasola, had last week in a police complaint said she had telephoned Khan on July 10 and later went to his Batla House residence to raise the issue of power cuts with him.
Khan had, however, said he did not even know if the woman came to his residence.
AAP had yesterday rubbished the allegation levelled against the MLA, claiming Delhi Police had "pressurised" the woman into giving a false statement against Khan.