AAP’s Model Town MLA Akhilesh Pati Tripathi has told the Delhi Police that he has returned the money which he had claimed from the Delhi Assembly Secretariat for the treatment of his mother with penal interest as she is not dependent on him.
According to the MLA, his father is a retired teacher and gets a monthly pension of Rs. 15,000. The MLA told this to the investigating agency when he was interrogated by it to prepare and submit a status report to a Delhi court on a complaint filed by advocate Vivek Garg, alleging that the MLA had illegally obtained an illegal payment from the Assembly Secretariat for the treatment of his mother.
The complaint stated that in the affidavits filed along with his nomination papers for the Delhi Assembly polls in 2013 and 2015, Mr. Tripathi had declared that his parents were not dependent on him.
However, after being elected to the Assembly, Mr. Tripathi obtained a medical card from the Assembly Secretariat and got the names of his parents included in it, stating that they are dependent on him and claimed money for the treatment of his mother, the complaint further said.
“It is submitted that an inquiry report was sought from the Deputy Secretary, Legislative Branch, Delhi Vidhan Sabha office, in which he stated that in this connection I am informing you that Akhilesh Tripathi has voluntarily returned the amount claimed by him for medical treatment of his mother, that is, Rs. 1,72,763 along with interest of Rs. 20,879 on September 16, 2015, with due permission of the Speaker,’’ the police informed the court in a status report.
The Secretary also stated that the “Legislative Branch treats the matter as closed and does not propose to take any further action in this regard,” the report said.
Meanwhile, the complainant urged the court to straightaway begin recording of pre-summoning evidence as there was no need to pass an order for lodging an FIR because the MLA has admitted his crime. The court told Mr. Garg to take up his plea for consideration on December 3.