It appears CM’s attacker came with intention to kill, says court; orders framing of charges
A Delhi court has ordered charges to be framed against two men accused of attempting to attack Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a public hearing, saying the main accused appeared well prepared.
A Delhi court said the main accused appeared well prepared while ordering charges in the alleged attack on Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a public meeting. (PTI Photo)
Maintaining that Rajkot resident Rajeshbhai Khimjibhai Sakariya prima facie came “well prepared” to attack Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta during a Jan Sunwai meeting at her Civil Lines Camp Office on August 20, the Tis Hazari court in Delhi on Saturday directed that charges be framed against Rajesh and his accomplice Tehsin Raza.
While Sakariya was arrested from the spot, Raza, also from Rajkot, was arrested four days later.
The two are to be charged with attempt to murder, obstruction of a public servant in discharge of their public functions, assault or using criminal force to deter public servants from their duty and criminal conspiracy, among others.
According to the 429-page chargesheet filed by Delhi Police in October, Rajesh (41) had attacked Gupta after he had a dream in which dogs told him that dogs in Delhi were suffering. The Delhi Police had claimed that the attacker was angry over the CM’s support for the Supreme Court’s August 11 order, which directed authorities in Delhi-NCR to relocate all stray dogs from the streets to shelters within eight weeks.
In her order on Saturday, Additional Sessions Judge Ekta Gauba Mann said, “William Shakespeare in his famous work titled Hamlet said ‘Frailty, thy name is Woman!’ In the present context, although the defence taken by the accused is that he is an animal lover, specially dogs, and he was upset by the order of the hon’ble Supreme Court… But (he) was well aware that there was high security for the judges of the hon’ble Supreme Court… So, he found an easy prey because the victim being a woman and despite being a Chief Minister, was not having such a high security as that of the judges of the hon’ble Supreme Court.”
“…the law of the country is that justice empowers every woman… from a woman who is cooking help to the Chief Minister and law protects them and punishes the wrongdoer with an iron hand,” the court said.
“This prima facie shows… Rajesh has come in a very calculated and well prepared manner to attack upon the victim with an intention to kill the victim and this fact is further supported by the conduct of accused Rajesh within a few seconds of talking to the victim,” the judge observed.
According to sources, Rajesh had told the court in the last hearing that he “loved animals” and “couldn’t control his aggression”, which led to the attack.
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The Delhi Police was represented in the court by senior advocate Pradeep Rana.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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