Before attack on Delhi CM, accused halted at Ujjain to visit temples, surveilled her old house: Police
After questioning him and scrutinising his cellphone details, police said a probe has also revealed that he offered prayers at Shri Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple in Ujjain before coming to Delhi on Tuesday.
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Security personnel stand guard outside Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s residence after the attack on Wednesday. (Gajendra Yadav)During their probe into the attack on Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, police said they found that the accused, Rajkot resident Rajesh Khimji Sakriya, first went to Ujjain to pray at a temple.
Police said these details were revealed after scanning Sakriya’s phone and from his questioning. He was quizzed by multiple security agencies, apart from the Delhi Police.
Officers said Sakriya also claimed during questioning that he saw a video clip of Gupta talking about stray dogs.
“During questioning, Sakriya (41) claimed he is a devotee of Lord Shiva and a dog lover. During the Covid pandemic, he bought a Shivling from Ujjain and installed it in his house in Rajkot. He claimed that on August 15, while he was praying, he saw the image of a dog and decided to revisit Ujjain. On August 16, he left home. On Sunday, he offered prayers at the Shri Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Temple and also visited the Shri Kal Bhairav Temple,” a senior police officer said.
Police said Sakriya works as an auto-driver and is a Class VII dropout. He was allegedly involved in gambling and bootlegging and has several criminal cases against him.
Describing the sequence of events leading up to the attack, pieced together from his questioning, police said Sakriya boarded a train to Delhi on Monday.
“After arriving in the Capital, he took an e-rickshaw to the Hanuman temple in Karol Bagh. He had earlier seen a video of dog lovers gathering there,” a police officer said.
“At the temple, he saw a poster with the CM’s face and asked people where she lived. On being told she stays in Shalimar Bagh, he headed there and took photos from the outside. He also approached the staff posted outside the residence and said he wanted to meet the CM. They said she holds a Jan Sunwai at Civil Lines and gave him a registration slip,” the officer said.
Police said Sakriya then went to Kashmere Gate, where he got a quick haircut and a shave. “He asked the hairdresser if there was a night shelter where he could stay and was told about the Shree Delhi Gujarati Samaj in Civil Lines. It offered boarding facilities, so he took up a room,” said the officer.
Police said on Tuesday night, he called his wife and told her to wake him up at 6 am. On Wednesday morning, he walked to the CM’s Camp Office,” the officer added.
After recording statements of eyewitnesses and security personnel, police found that Sakriya was fifth in line to meet the CM.
“The CM was sitting in front of a table, in proximity to the visitors. It was then that the accused attacked her — he grabbed her and they fell on the ground. The CM’s security personnel quickly pulled him away. He was then trashed by those present,” the officer said.
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The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) took over the security charge of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta from the Delhi Police late Wednesday night hours after an attack on her and now it is providing ‘Z’ category security cover to her. Gupta was holding a ‘Jan Sunwai’ (public meeting) at her residence in North Delhi’s Civil Lines Wednesday when she was allegedly attacked by a man from Gujarat.
