Manish Sisodia house attacked: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister's house allegedly attacked by "BJP goons"
Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party claimed Thursday that Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's residence had been "attacked by BJP goons" who, the AAP claimed, had acted with the support of police personnel meant to ensure the safety and security of Mr Sisodia and his family.
Shocking visuals from videos posted online by Mr Sisodia and AAP leaders Atishi and Raghav Chadha showed dozens of men marching up to the Deputy Chief Minister's residence and forcing their way past a handful of policemen, at least one of whom had what looked like an assault rifle.
The videos show the mob pushing the police aside - they seemed to surrender to the situation rather meekly - and hammer on the gates till they fly open. As the mob makes its way inside the compound, some policemen follow them in and try to stop them from proceeding any further.
According to news agency ANI, a case has been filed and six people have been arrested.
Mr Sisodia, who was not home at the time, tweeted: "Today, in my absence, BJP goons broke into my house and tried to attack my wife and children. You (tagging Union Home Minister Amit Shah, to whom Delhi Police reports) may have lost the political battle but this is how you will respond?"
"This seems to be an orchestrated and premeditated attack at the behest of the Home Minister with police very clearly just standing by," AAP's Raghav Chadha told NDTV, adding that half the house had been vandalised and the family (including Mr Sisodia's mother) had been left shaken.
AAP leaders, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, launched scathing counter-attacks on Mr Shah and accused him of pulling the strings.
Mr Kejriwal, whom the party alleged Tuesday had been placed under "house arrest" after visiting farmers protesting against the farm laws, said "in a democracy it is worrying to target political leaders".
"I strongly condemn the systematic, organised and violent attack on Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's home. The goons entered his house in police presence when he was away. Why is BJP getting so desperate by the day in Delhi?" Mr Kejriwal tweeted.
"In a democracy, it is very worrying to target political leaders in this way. In view of the seriousness of the attack on the convoy of the BJP national president, it should be thoroughly investigated and the responsibility of this incident should be fixed," he added.
Mr Kejriwal was referring to an attack on BJP President JP Nadda's convoy near Kolkata earlier today. This evening Mr Shah announced a probe into that incident.
"This is a black day in Delhi's political history... the Union Home Minister is using his party goons and Delhi Police to attack the family of AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in his absence from his residence," Atishi said.
Delhi BJP said their protest - against an Aam Aadmi Party "conspiracy" to kill BJP mayors and other corporation leaders - was peaceful.
"We protested outside Sisodia's residence to make it clear BJP workers are capable of answering any challenge," Ashok Goel Devraha, Vice President of Delhi BJP, was quoted by news agency PTI.
The Delhi Women Commission has issued a notice to the police asking for details of the attack and how many had been arrested so far.
With input from ANI, PTI