AAP shares video of Manish Sisodia being manhandled by cops, Delhi Police issues clarification

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday claimed that former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was allegedly “manhandled” by the cops as he tried to address some reporters at the Rose Avenue Court where he was due for a bail hearing.

Sharing a video of the incident which showed the jailed AAP leader being grabbed by the collar by a police official and pulled away from the press, Delhi Education Minister Atishi Singh wrote on Twitter: ‘Shocking misbehaviour by this policeman with Manish ji in Rouse Avenue Court.”

The AAP minister demanded the immediate suspension of the Delhi policeman seen in the video.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared Atishi’s post and asked if the cops have the right to mistreat Sisodia and wondered if they’ve been asked to do this by “higher authorities.”

Responding to the video, the Delhi Police termed the AAP’s allegations as “propaganda” and claimed that the police response as seen in the video was mandated from a security point of view as it is unlawful for an accused in judicial custody to issue statements to the media.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Rose Avenue Court today extended Manish Sisodia’s judicial custody till June 1 in connection with a money laundering case related to the purported liquor scam case.

Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court had asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a response to the bail request by Sisodia who was arrested by the probe agency in connection with the purported liquor policy scam case.

On April 28, Sisodia was denied relief by a trial court which dismissed his bail plea on April 28 while observing that evidence prima facie “speaks volumes of his involvement in commission of the offence.”

The senior AAP leader was arrested by the ED on March 9 in Tihar Jail where he was lodged after being arrested by the CBI in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam case.

Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 in connection with its ongoing probe into the purported Delhi excise policy ‘scam’ case.

At an earlier hearing, the ED had told the court that Sisodia was allegedly involved in “large-scale destruction of digital evidence to impede the investigation” and had purportedly changed and destroyed 14 phones.