Delhi CM assault: Attempt to murder case lodged against attacker Rajesh Khimji

New Delhi, Aug 20 (IANS) An attempt to murder case has been registered against 41-year-old Rajesh Bhai Khimji Bhai Sakariya, who attacked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during the 'Jan Sunvai' event at her official residence in Civil Lines on Wednesday, police said.

"In the matter of attack on Chief Minister, a case u/s 109(1)/132/221 BNS has been registered at PS Civil Lines. The accused has been taken into police custody. Further investigation is going on. We are investigating it from all the possible angles," the Delhi Police said in a statement.

With this, the accused has been charged with Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita's Section 109 (attempt to murder), Section 132 (obstructing a public servant), and Section 221 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions).

The police also said that a team from the Central Agency and Special Cell is interrogating the accused.

The police are also planning to ask for a 5 to 7-day remand of Rajesh to ascertain the motive for the attack.

Rajesh came to Delhi from Rajkot by train on Tuesday morning. This was the first time he visited the national Capital. He stayed at Gujarati Bhavan in Civil Lines. After this, he went to CM Gupta's private residence in Shalimar Bagh, and also informed his friend about it on the call, the police mentioned.

Earlier in the day, CCTV footage from CM Gupta's Shalimar Bagh residence surfaced showing Rajesh arriving outside the home and calling someone. He was also seen conducting a recce and recording a video.

The footage also indicated that Rajesh surveyed the area in advance and even made a recording, as claimed by Delhi Ministers Parvesh Verma and Manjinder Singh Sirsa, that the assault was pre-planned.

According to the police sources, at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, when the accused went to CM Gupta's Shalimar Bagh home, the staff there provided him with the address of the Chief Minister's official residence and the timing of the Jan Sunvai.

He then came back to the Gujarat Bhavan and spent the night there.

The people started arriving for the Jan Sunvai on Wednesday at around 7 a.m., that is when the accused reached the venue at the same time as the Chief Minister arrived.

Meanwhile, details of Rajesh's criminal record have also emerged. According to police, at least five cases are registered against him at Bhaktinagar Police Station in Rajkot. He has been acquitted in four of them, while one case remains pending in court, with the next hearing scheduled for September 9.

They added that the Gujarat Police have been contacted in connection with the case, while an official confirmation regarding further details of the accused is awaited.

--IANS

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