Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the second accused in connection with the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a ‘Jan Sunwai’ programme at her official residence.
Police said Tahseen Syed, a native of Gujarat’s Rajkot, is a friend of prime accused Sakriya Rajeshbhai Khimji and the duo were in constant touch with each other before the alleged attack.
Tahseen was detained on Friday and brought to Delhi for detailed interrogation. He was made to confront Khimji to verify facts, following which his arrest was formally registered on Sunday.
Sakriya, who also hails from Rajkot, had allegedly sent a video of Gupta's Shalimar Bagh residence to Tehseen, while the latter had sent him Rs 2,000, police said.
Sakriya allegedly assaulted the chief minister during "Jan Sunwai" programme at her Civil Lines camp office on Wednesday. He was arrested soon after and a Delhi court later sent him to five-day police custody.
During the interrogation, Sakriya, known to be a dog lover, told police that he went to meet the chief minister to raise the issue of stray dogs following the Supreme Court’s order to shift all dogs from streets to shelters.
He also said that he had planned to stage a protest at the Ramleela Ground against the top court’s order.
The police, however, have not taken his statements in face value, and has launched a detailed investigation into the incident. Sakriya’s mobile phone has been sent for a forensic examination to ascertain if he deleted any crucial information before the assault.
Delhi Police have found that Sakriya has five cases of assault and possession of liquor against between 2017 and 2024 at Rajkot's Bhaktinagar police station.
