Delhi Police serves notice to Atishi on AAP's allegations of MLA 'poaching'

Sources said Atishi was not present at her residence. The minister, however, has given directions to her office staff to receive the notice, sources in the AAP said.

A team of Delhi Police Crime Branch on Sunday visited Finance Minister Atishi’s residence and served her a notice in connection with allegations that the BJP was attempting to "poach" Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.

Sources said that the Delhi minister’s staff have received the notice, after the Crime Branch team visited the AAP leader’s residence for a second time at 12.55 pm on Sunday.

According to the notice, the Crime Branch has asked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi to give information on the allegations of poaching levelled against the BJP, given statements by them suggest they were “privy to certain information regarding commission of a cognizable offence”. They have been asked to respond to the notice by February 5.

This comes a day after Crime Branch officials served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP attempted to poach seven AAP MLAs.

Atishi was not present at her residence when the notice was handed over, sources said. Earlier in the day too, police officials had arrived at the minister’s residence but she was not present.

"The team visited again to serve notice to Atishi. The team first visited her house in the morning when she was not present at her residence," a senior police officer of the Crime Branch said.

According to AAP sources, Atishi had given directions to her office staff to receive the notice. Responding to the notice, AAP leader Jasmine Shah said the notice does not include anything about a summon or an FIR or any section of the IPC or CrPC. “This is just a letter on a white paper,” Shah said.

“Crime Branch officials also reached the residence of Delhi minister Atishi today to serve her a notice. They wanted to give it only to her personally and not to her officials. Should the Delhi ministers always stay at their homes to personally receive each and every delivery?” Shah said, adding that police officers had waited five hours before giving the notice to an official of the CMO.

On January 27, Kejriwal and Atishi had claimed that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs by offering Rs 25 crore each and a ticket to contest next year's assembly poll to topple the AAP government.

The BJP had rubbished the allegations, terming them "false" and "baseless", and dared the chief minister to furnish evidence to back his claims.

Police have approached senior AAP leaders seeking assistance with the names of the MLAs who were approached by the BJP.

According to the notice seen by PTI, the Crime Branch has asked Kejriwal and Atishi to respond to the notice by February 5.

"An enquiry is being conducted by Crime Branch, Delhi Police, on a complaint received in respect of the allegations made by you that BJP has offered Rs 25 crore each to sitting MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party for leaving AAP and to join the BJP. These allegations were posted by you on X (formerly Twitter) on January 27," read the notice.

"The plain reading of the said tweet indicates that you are privy to certain information regarding commission of a cognizable offence. Therefore, you are hereby requested to provide answers to the questionnaire enclosed herewith by February 5," the notice read.

"Any additional/supplementary information that you may wish to share or which may be deemed by you to be of any assistance for the enquiry, may either be tendered in writing or can be got recorded by the undersigned on the date and venue mentioned above,” it added.