Hours after being arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly scribbling death threat graffiti against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at metro stations in the national capital, the 33-year-old accused was granted bail by the court.
The accused, originally from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, who also posted photos of the graffiti on his Instagram account, has been identified as Ankit Goel.
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On Monday, several photos of the graffiti targeting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal went viral on social media, drawing sharp condemnation from the Aam Aadmi Party. Soon after, a CCTV video surfaced online, showing a man writing on a metro station wall.
According to police, Ankit Goel, a loan manager at a government bank in Bareilly, travelled to Delhi, wrote the messages on metro stations reportedly at Patel Nagar and Rajiv Chowk, and returned to his city. Goel, a former AAP supporter, told police he became disillusioned with the party due to “recent developments.”
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One of the messages written inside a metro coach read, “Kejriwal Dilli Chhor Dijiye (Kejriwal, leave Delhi). Please. Otherwise, you will have to remember three slaps, which you planted (sic) before the election. Now the real and actual punch/slap will be there soon. Today’s meeting at Jhandewalan…. Ankit.Goel_91.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Goel was brought before a magistrate and was granted bail. According to PTI sources, the bail was granted because the charges under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were bailable.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called the arrest a ‘complete sham’ and said, “As expected, he has been released on bail despite committing the grave offence of openly threatening the chief minister.”
In a statement, the AAP claimed that anyone who attacks the Chief Minister receives protection from the BJP. They recalled how BJP MP Tejasvi Surya led a mob to attack the CM and vandalise property.
“BJP offers protection to all kinds of criminals. The people of the country are fed up with the negative, regressive politics of the BJP and will teach them a lesson on May 25,” the AAP claimed.