NEW DELHI:  Akhilesh Pati Tripathi, an AAP MLA, is likely to appear before the Delhi Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Thursday in connection with the MCD ticket-selling issue, officials said.

The investigation team, led by top officials, is to present the Model Town MLA with testimony and digital proof. The ACB arrested Prince Raghuvanshi, Om Singh, Shiv Shankar Pandey alias Vishal Pandey, and another individual on Wednesday for allegedly selling an MCD ticket for Kamla Nagar Ward (No. 69) for Rs 90 lakh.

They were detained in accordance with sections 171 (E) of the IPC and 7/13 of the POC Act.

Madhur Verma, the DCP ACB said,  the accused were detained "for taking money for granting AAP ticket of MCD election to Shobha Khari, wife of the complainant Gopal Khari, for Ward No. 69, Kamla Nagar." The MLA has been called to the pobe after the complaint mentioned him.

Gopal Khari, a resident of Kamla Nagar, filed a complaint with the ACB on November 14 claiming that he had been actively involved with the AAP since 2014 and had met Tripathi on November 9 to ask for a council seat for his wife Shobha Khari.

The complaint added that Tripathi requested a Rs 90 lakh bribe in exchange for the same.

"At Khari's request, he gave Tripathi a bribe of Rs 35 lakh and Rs 20 lakh to Rajesh Gupta (MLA Wazirpur). Khari informed Tripathi that he would pay the remaining 35 lakh once he received the ticket. Khari could not locate his wife's name in the party's list of council members running for election on November 12.

Thereafter, Om Singh contacted the complainant and gave him the assurance that he would get the ticket for the next elections. He also offered to give him his cash back (bribe amount). According to the ACB officer, Khari also provided audio and video recordings of his purported interactions during the payment and return of the bribe money.

The ACB put together a team of its top officials to find the accused after receiving the report. They set up a trap at Khari's house on the nights of November 15 and 16, and in the presence of impartial witnesses, Singh and his accomplices Pandey and Raghuvanshi were caught in the act. They had gone to refund the 33 lakh rupees of the 35 lakh rupees in bribes that had been paid on Tripathi's behalf.

"The bribe amount of Rs 33 lakh has been seized. Further investigation of the case is on," said the official.

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