Police have arrested two people, including the Vadodara city president of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), for allegedly impersonating Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers and threatening party workers over an internal dispute within the party.
Police began investigating after AAP leader Durgesh Pathak claimed on social media that party workers in Gujarat were receiving threatening calls from individuals claiming to be IB officials. The claim was later amplified by AAP’s national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who disputed the calls and said he had personally called the number.
Kejriwal retweeted Pathak’s claim and questioned the law under which this verification is being conducted. He had urged party workers to publish similar invitations if they received them.
The mobile number mentioned in the social media posts has been traced to a resident of Anand district, Anand Superintendent of Police (SP) JG Jasani said. Further investigation led police to Nitin Dubariya, a resident of Anand, and Ashok Oza, president of AAP’s Vadodara city unit.
Police said that Oza called Dubariya in Vadodara and that a call was made from Dubariya’s phone to AAP worker Keshav Chauhan. During the call, the caller allegedly identified himself as an IB officer and threatened Chauhan under the pretext of verification.
Police suspect that the motive was internal rivalry within the party. Officers said Chouhan was assigned organizational work in Vadodara, after which Oza considered him a political rival. The call was allegedly part of a planned attempt to force Chauhan to leave the city.
An FIR has been registered at Anand police station for cyber crimes under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act and the Information Technology Act.
