Gujarat: AAP's local poll candidate held for 'false' story of firing on him, possessing live round

Gir Somnath: Police arrested a candidate of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) contesting upcoming polls to the Una municipality in Gujarat's Gir Somnath district on Friday for allegedly cooking up a false story about an incident of firing on him and also for possessing a live bullet, officials said.

The arrested AAP candidate has been identified as Ajay Bambhaniya, they said.

The action against him was taken after the investigators, including the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), confirmed that no such firing incident had occurred.

"Ajay Bambhaniya was arrested for furnishing false information to the police claiming that he was fired upon on Thursday night when he was travelling towards Una in his car. A hole was found in the windshield of the vehicle," Gir Somnath district Superintendent of Police Jaydeepsinh Jadeja said.

Bambhaniya, AAP's candidate for the Una municipality polls, drove to the police station late on Thursday night and complained that two unidentified persons had fired one round at him, he said.

Officials present at the police station sent him for primary treatment after he appeared in distress, the SP said.

A detailed investigation was launched and the FSL team was also roped in to verify whether any firing had actually taken place. They examined whether the hole found could have been caused by a bullet, according to him.

"After the examination on multiple parameters, the FSL report concluded that no such firing incident had occurred. The entire sequence of events appeared to have been fabricated and it seems that he attempted to falsely implicate someone in legal trouble," said SP Jadeja.

After Bambhaniya drove to the police station and parked his car, a bullet fell from his clothes while he was stepping out. The incident was captured on a CCTV camera. That live bullet was later sent to the FSL for examination, he said.

"The FSL also measured the diameter of the hole in the windshield and found that it did not match the diameter of the bullet, which raised suspicion," Jadeja said.

Normally, when a bullet is fired, gunpowder residue is present, but none was found either on the bullet or on the windshield. Additionally, no bullet fragments were found inside the vehicle, according to the official.

"All these facts point towards a larger conspiracy and raise serious doubts about the entire incident. After extensive investigation late into the night, the FSL and police teams concluded that no firing incident had actually taken place," he said.

A case was registered under sections 212 and 217 (furnishing false information), 214 (refusing to answer public servant authorised to question) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Arms Act, as CCTV evidence showed him possessing a live bullet, the police said.

"This case will serve as a landmark for the district and the entire state, showing what happens when someone misuses the legal system to fabricate any innocent person," SP Jadeja said.

Before Bambhaniya's arrest, AAP's Gujarat unit chief Isudan Gadhvi issued a video statement alleging that the party candidate was threatened by the BJP to withdraw from the poll race before he was fired upon.

"Usually, the Election Commission and the police claim that weapons are seized, so how does firing happen on a young candidate from the Koli community who is about to contest local polls. Who provided the weapon? Who attacked him? Gujarat does not have a gun culture, and it was always peaceful," Gadhvi said.

The state is being defamed by hooligans and corrupt people, he said.

"Bambhaniya was threatened by BJP leaders to withdraw his form. And then, he was shot," Gadhvi said.

He alleged that Bambhaniya's complaint was not taken by the police when he was in the hospital, and that this is defaming Gujarat at the national level.

He also urged people in Una to vote against hooliganism in Gujarat in the local body polls to be held on April 26.