New Delhi: Delhi Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar was arrested on Tuesday by the Delhi Police for allegedly submitting fake degrees to get admission in a law course. Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh claimed in a tweet that Tomar was arrested without prior notice.
Police arrested the Aam Aadmi Party leader from his house this morning and took him to Hauz Khas police station for further questioning.
Police sources said he has been arrested in the alleged fake degree case. An FIR was registered against him last night.
He has been charged under various IPC sections, including 420 (cheating).
Prior to the arrest, a police team had visited Bihar on the directions of a court to investigate the charges.
Hauz Khas police station in south Delhi was heavily barricaded and a large contingent of police deployed there. Singh has also been charged with IPC sections 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery with purpose of cheating) and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), the sources said.
In March, the Bar Council of Delhi had issued a notice to Tomar on the basis of a reply filed by the Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University in Faizabad, UP, which said the undergraduate degree, marksheets and roll number submitted by Tomar at the time of his admission to the LLB course were “completely fake”.
The arrest comes amid an escalating turf war between the AAP government and Delhi Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi refused to respond to queries on the arrest.
“I was in the meeting and I will seek details of his arrest before commenting,” Bassi said.
Hitting out, AAP leader Sanjay Singh accused the Centre of using “pressure tactics” against the Delhi government.
“The concerned university has filed its reply in the court. It also recorded the statement that the degrees are genuine. Then why was he arrested?
“The Lt Governor, Delhi Police Commissioner and the Modi government are trying to scare us with such tactics. But we are not going to be scared. Our fight against corruption will continue,” Singh said.
