A non-bailable warrant (NBW) has been issued against AAP MLA from Matiala Gulab Singh, who is also co-incharge of party's Gujarat affairs, for failing to join investigation in a case of extortion involving his alleged associates, police said on Friday.
Reacting to the development, Gulab Singh, who has been named in the FIR, told PTI that he has informed the police that he is in Gujarat for party work and will join the investigation on October 18.
Aam Aadmi Party leaders, meanwhile, questioned the timing of the move by Delhi Police as it came ahead of party chief Arvind Kejriwal's October 16 rally in Gujarat.
Last month, two property dealers, Deepak Sharma and Rinku Diwan, had alleged that Satish and Devinder, who work in Gulab Singh's office, and an associate Jagdish were extorting money from them by threatening to get the building from where the property dealers were operating demolished.
A case under section 384 (punishment for extortion) IPC was registered at Bindapur police station on September 13.
"We obtained an NBW against Gulab Singh from the court last evening. He had been issued notices to join investigation but he kept giving excuses to skip questioning. His joining investigation is essential to get to the bottom of the truth in the organised extortion racket," a police official said.
"We moved the court seeking an NBW and the court has granted our request. We are asking him to immediately join investigation," said Dependra Pathak, joint commissioner of police, Southwestern range.
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His alleged associates, Satish, Devinder and Jagdish, were arrested and a probe was taken up in the matter which revealed that the "organised extortion racket" had been operating with the knowledge of the MLA, a senior police officer claimed.
Following the investigation, Gulab Singh was named in the FIR and sent notices to join the investigation, police said.
However, with Gulab Singh "not cooperating in the investigation", Delhi Police obtained a non-bailable warrant against the MLA.