Delhi Law Minister Jitendra Singh Tomar was today arrested on charges of cheating and fraud in obtaining his law degree, triggering a no-holds barred attack by AAP government which accused the Centre of creating an "Emergency-like situation" in the city.
49-year-old Tomar, MLA from Trinagar and a first time minister, was arrested at around 11 AM following investigation into a complaint by Bar Council of Delhi that he had obtained a fake law degree from the Institute of Legal Studies College in Munger in Bihar.
The arrest came in the midst of a raging battle between the AAP government and Lt Governor Najeeb Jung over the powers of the city government, giving a new political twist to the murky fight.
Stung by the arrest, AAP unleashed an attack on the Modi Government accusing it of creating an "Emergency-like" situation in the national capital to avert the Delhi government's crackdown on corruption.
One of the AAP leaders alleged that the arrest "conspiracy" was hatched in the Union Home Minister's office at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party would not be cowed down but fight back.
An FIR was registered against Tomar last night in Hauz Khas Police Station and today he was slapped with various sections of IPC relating to cheating and criminal conspiracy. Police first brought Tomar to Hauz Khas police station and later shifted him to the Vasant Vihar police station.
Tomar was interacting with a group of people in his office in Trinagar when about 30-40 policemen took him away on the pretext of getting some documents and then drove him to the Hauz Khas police station, according to his staff.
Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said the arrest has been carried within the purview of law and prescribed norms for arresting a Minister were followed.
"There are certain procedures which need to be followed while arresting a minister and they have been followed in this case. The complaint had come to us long time back and we have seriously looked into the matter. Action has been taken within the legal framework," Bassi said when his comments were sought on Tomar's arrest.
