A case of trespass and damage to property was slapped against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Alka Lamba on Monday, a day after she was injured during an anti-drug drive even as the legislator filed a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women against BJP lawmaker O.P. Sharma for calling her a “drug addict”.
The case was filed after a video emerged in which Lamba and some of her supporters were seen vandalising shops in Chandni Chowk area while carrying out the anti-drugs drive early on Sunday.
Lamba said the 30 second CCTV footage was from O. P. Sharma's shop and it was shot after she was attacked. The footage showed Lamba walking towards the counter of a shop and toppling a billing machine. One of her colleagues was seen pushing everything from a table.
Police said the case against the AAP MLA has been registered following a complaint by a local trader at Kashmere Gate police station. In the wee hours of Sunday, Lamba was attacked during an anti-drugs campaign in Kashmere Gate area where she sustained head injuries. AAP suspected BJP's Vishwas Nagar MLA Sharma's involvement in the incident.
Lamba said the raid was aimed at shops in the area which were operating illegally and helping drug peddlers. Earlier in the day, Sharma kicked up a row terming Lamba a “drug addict”, as he questioned her motive behind the night operation. Alleging the involvement of Lamba, the Chandni Chowk MLA, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's “goons” in vandalising shops in Chandi Chowk, Sharma threatened retaliation by “lathi-wielding” BJP workers in future in case of such incidents.
Lamba approached DCW against Sharma for his allegations. ”I want to ask why no footage has emerged which shows me campaigning against drug abuse, why there is no footage of me being attacked? ”This 30 seconds footage is from O.P. Sharma's shop itself and it shows the incident which happened after I was attacked,” Lamba said adding the policemen on the spot did nothing.
The Chandni Chowk MLA received head injuries and was rushed to Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, where she was discharged after treatment on Sunday. Despite the attack, Lamba said that she will continue the drive till August 15. The Delhi BJP slammed the AAP MLA saying it was “so shameful that an elected representative vandalised shops and threatened traders.”
”Even Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal came out in her support. The CCTV footages shows how they have looted and vandalised the shop yesterday and this was not confined to just one shop but several others were also targeted,” the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta told reporters. He called the anti-drug campaign and her sustaining injury ”a scripted conspiracy”. ”As they were involved in vandalism, later they thought action will be taken against them. So they scripted this story and claimed that she was attacked. To hide their crime they started blaming others,” alleged Gupta. AAP leader Ashutosh, however, defended Lamba and accused Delhi Police of targeting the legislator. ”Alka Lamba was calling the police who were standing there and didn't help. So the reaction was natural,” he said justifying Lamba's action.
The AAP legislator said she will continue with her campaign despite attack on her. ”When I was attacked, I had three options. I could have escaped and stopped the campaign, we could have let them attack us and done nothing or I could have challenged them by saying that the campaign won't be stopped,” she said. Police had already registered a case in connection with the attack on Lamba and arrested one Jitin. ”I need to learn from Arvind Kejriwal who has been attacked so many times but did not react even once. We need to learn that we have to fight but not react,” said Lamba.
A DCW official said, “We have received her (Lamba's) complaint against OP Sharma. The course of action will be initiated after studying the complaint.” Sharma had said “Whether she (Alka Lamba) is helping people fight addiction or is addicted herself is a matter of investigation. Whatever you see on the CCTV footage is not the action of a normal person.”
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