Kapil Mishra on hunger strike allegedly attacked by AAP worker

New Delhi: A man claiming to be an AAP worker on Wednesday allegedly attacked ousted Delhi minister Kapil Mishra, who began a hunger strike against what he termed as the alleged misuse of public money on foreign trips by AAP leaders.

Although the AAP rejected the man’s claim of affiliation with it, Mishra alleged that the the accused was associated with the mohalla clinic programme run under health minister Satyendar Jain.

A ruckus ensued at the protest site when the man, identified as Ankit Bhardwaj, pounced on Mishra before the police and his aides caught hold of him. Later in the day, the accused was arrested by the police.

Mishra, who was sacked from the Delhi Cabinet and primary membership of the AAP, said the man had threatened to kill him. “The guy came running, put his hands on my neck and said he would kill me. My aides caught hold of him and the police came and whisked him away,” Mishra said.

Bhardwaj, while being taken away by the police, told reporters that he attacked the former Delhi minister because “he betrayed the party”.

“I have come on my own. I am an AAP worker,” he claimed.

The AAP alleged that Bharadwaj works for the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), youth wing of the BJP. But the BJYM also denied having any link with him.

The police denied that Mishra was attacked. “He was sitting there. When Mishra’s medical check-up was underway, he stood up and shouted, ‘Why are you doing this?’ He has been whisked and further investigation is underway,” said a senior police officer.

Mishra had recently made a sensational allegation that he witnessed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal take '2 crore in cash from health minister Satyendar Jain at his residence. On Tuesday, he had alleged that he got threat calls and launched a hunger strike Wednesday morning, demanding that AAP leaders disclose the details of funding for their foreign tours. He claimed that the details of the foreign trips by AAP leaders would “reveal a lot” about alleged corruption by them.

“I’m sitting on a satyagraha till I get clarification on details of international travel expenses of some senior AAP leaders.

“It is not a dharna but a satyagraha. I would like to send a message to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to put out the details of the foreign tours of his five leaders — Satyendra Jain, Ashish Khetan, Raghav Chaddha, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak — in public domain,” Mishra told reporters.