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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
A relative of Delhi AAP MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi and two other party workers have been arrested by the Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) in a ₹90 lakh bribe-for-ticket matter involving the legislator.
ACB said that a sum of ₹55 lakhs was given to Model Town MLA Tripathi and Wazipur MLA Rajesh Gupta by complainant Gopal Khari for a party ticket to his wife but they could not keep their promise.
Tripathi’s brother-in-law Om Singh, Shiv Shankar Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi were arrested on Tuesday.
According to the ACB, the accused were caught when they came to return the bribe amount taken by Tripathi for providing the ticket to Khari’s wife Shobha Khari from ward number 78 in Kamla Nagar in the civic elections.
While ₹55 lakhs were already given to Tripathi, ₹35 lakhs were to be given once the job was done, said ACB officials.
However, Khari approached the ACB on November 14 when his wife did not get an AAP ticket from the ward, stating that he met Tripathi for a ticket on November 9.
In his complaint, he called himself a worker of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He initially gave ₹35 lakhs to Tripathi and ₹20 lakhs to legislator Rajesh Gupta on being asked by the Model Town MLA.
On November 12, the complainant did not find the name of his wife in the list of candidates released by the AAP. Thereafter, Om Singh contacted Khari and assured him that his wife would get a ticket in the next elections and also offered to return the bribe money, the complaint reads.
Khari also submitted audio and video evidence to the ACB along with his complaint.
After due verification, a team was constituted under the supervision of ACP Rajender Kumar. The team laid a trap at Khari’s residence where accused Om Singh and his associates Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey and Prince Raghuvanshi were caught red-handed in the presence of independent witnesses when they came to return ₹33 lakhs out of total ₹35 lakhs received by them on behalf of Tripathi on the intervening night of November 15 and November 16.
A case has been registered under section 7/13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and 171 (E) of the IPC against the trio.
Officials said that legislators Tripathi and Gupta would soon be summoned for questioning.
