Malerkotla sacriledge: AAP MLA Naresh Yadav granted bail

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Naresh Yadav was on Saturday granted bail by a local court here in connection with the alleged sacrilege incident in Malerkotla on June 24. "Naresh Yadav has been granted bail by the court of Additional District & Sessions Judge A S Virk here in Sangrur," AAP leader and Head of party's legal cell Himmat Singh Shergill said today.

On July 25, the Mehruali MLA was remanded in police custody for two days by Malerkotla court. On July 27, the AAP MLA was sent to the judicial custody till August 1 by the court.

Accusing the Parkash Singh Badal-led state government of wrongly framing Yadav, Shergill, who is Yadav's counsel, alleged, "There is no evidence with the police to link Yadav with the Malerkotla sacrilege case. Police have failed to find anything objectionable against Yadav. Police had done this at the behest of Badal government."

Punjab Police on July 24 had arrested Yadav from Delhi in connection with the alleged sacrilege incident in Malerkotla after one of the accused arrested in connection with the case claimed he had acted at the behest of the AAP MLA. He was charged under IPC sections 109 (punishment for abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth etc. and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 295 (injury or defiling place of worship with an intent to insult the religion of any class). 

Yadav had described the police action against him as a "conspiracy." Police had claimed that Vijay had met the MLA before the incident and calls were also exchanged between them. The Mehrauli MLA and his party had denied the charges and alleged it was a "political conspiracy" to malign AAP's image ahead of Assembly polls in Punjab.