Chandigarh: In a double whammy for AAP, two MLAs of Delhi’s ruling party were today arrested– one for allegedly trying to mow a woman down and another in a sacrilege incident in Punjab–taking to 11 the number of its legislators held by police in different cases.

The Arvind Kejriwal-headed Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) has 67 legislators in the 70-member Delhi Assembly after it swept to power in February 2015.

Punjab Police IG (Patiala Zone) Paramraj Singh Umra Nangal said in Chandigarh, “We have arrested AAP MLA Naresh Yadav from his house in Delhi. He will be produced in the Malerkotla court tomorrow.”

A team of Punjab Police was dispatched to Delhi today to arrest AAP MLA Naresh Yadav who has been booked in connection with the alleged Malerkotla sacrilege incident on June 24.

“A team of police had been sent to Delhi to arrest the AAP MLA,” Punjab Police, IG (Patiala Zone), Paramraj Singh Umra Nangal said.

Yadav was booked under relevant sections of the IPC after one of the accused, Vijay Kumar, arrested in connection with the incident, claimed he had done it at the behest of the AAP MLA.

The Punjab police has already questioned the AAP MLA twice in connection with the incident.

The MLA was booked under various sections of IPC including 109 (punishment for abatement if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 injury or defiling place of worship with an intent to insult the religion of any class).

Police had claimed Vijay had even met the MLA before the incident and calls were also exchanged between them.

The Mehrauli MLA and his party have denied the charges and alleged it was a “political conspiracy” to malign the party’s image ahead of Assembly polls in Punjab.

PTI