A Delhi court on Sunday sent AAP legislator Prakash Jarwal, arrested in connection with a case of alleged suicide of a doctor in south Delhi last month, to judicial custody for 14 days, said his lawyer.
The court sent Jarwal and co-accused Kapil Nagar to judicial custody after deciding that their police custody was no longer required for investigation, said the AAP leader's lawyer Mohd Irshad.
It had sent them to police custody and later extended it, saying a lot of investigative work remained to be done and information still needed to be ferreted out.
Rajendra Singh, 52, allegedly committed suicide in Durga Vihar in south Delhi on April 18. In his suicide note, the doctor held Jarwal responsible for his death.
Like Jarwal, Singh was also involved in the business of water supply with the Delhi Jal Board since 2007, and police alleged that the MLA and his associates were extorting money from other water-tanker owners, including the doctor.
Jarwal, who represents the Deoli assembly constituency, and his aide Nagar were arrested on May 9, after a case of extortion and abetment to suicide was filed against them and others based on a police complaint by the doctor's son -- Hemant.
The FIR says Singh had been threatened and intimidated by Jarwal and Nagar. Police claimed both the accused did not cooperate during interrogation and hid facts vital to the investigation.
"During investigation it was found that there was a big nexus between water-tanker owners and the accused persons," the police said in the remand application.
Police said their investigation showed the money extorted from water-tanker owners was routed through the MLA's brother Anil Jarwal and invested in several properties and farm-houses in Delhi, Gurugram (Haryana) and Jaipur (Rajasthan).
They also claimed that Jarwal had got allotted many water borewells in his constituency by influencing the Jal Board and one water borewell was illegally given after taking Rs 10 lakh as "gratification money".
Police said complaints against the accused were filed to various authorities but action was never taken. They said they have found a WhatsApp group in the name of tanker-owners whose administrator is Nagar and Jarwal is one of its members.
The chat details clearly show the direct involvement of both the accused in running the tanker mafia in Sangam Vihar and Tigri.
The AAP leader's lawyer has said the politician had been falsely implicated in the case and was willing to cooperate in the investigation as and when required.
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