Goa AAP chief arrested for ‘misrepresentation of facts’ in road accident case

AAP Goa chief Palekar arrested for allegedly misrepresenting facts in connection with car accident which killed 3. He claims arrest is part of "dirty politics" & was offered to join ruling BJP, which he refused. Police took him into custody & charged him with IPC section 201.

The Goa Crime Branch on August 31 arrested State Aam Aadmi Party president Amit Palekar for allegedly misrepresenting facts in connection with an accident wherein a Mercedes car mowed down three people near Panaji earlier this month, an official said.

Mr. Palekar has been accused of misrepresenting facts by introducing a wrong person as the car driver before the investigation officer in an attempt to save the main accused who was at the wheel at the time of the accident, a senior police official told PTI.

The AAP leader, however, said he had nothing to do with the crime and claimed the action against him was part of "dirty politics".

Mr. Palekar was arrested under Indian Penal Code section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender), the police official said.

Earlier, businessman Paresh Sawardekar, who owns a chain of supermarkets and a real estate firm, was arrested after the Mercedes car he was allegedly driving in an inebriated condition on August 7 hit five vehicles in Banastarim village near Panaji, killing three persons, police had said.

The accident, in which three cars, a motorcycle and a scooter were hit, took place on the Ponda-Panaji national highway, some 15 kilometres from the State capital, he said.

On Thursday morning, the police took the AAP Goa chief into custody from his office in Panaji, the official said.