Anand/Vadodara, May 30 (IANS) Two men, including the Vadodara city president of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), have been arrested by Gujarat Police after an investigation into allegations that party workers were being threatened by Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials found that the calls had allegedly been made as part of an internal party rivalry, officials said on Saturday.

The arrests came days after former Delhi MLA and AAP leader Durgesh Pathak alleged on the social media platform X that the Gujarat Police’s IB wing was intimidating AAP workers in the state.

The claim was subsequently amplified by AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who reposted the allegation and questioned whether party workers were being harassed in the name of IB verification.

According to Anand district police, the mobile number cited in the social media allegations was traced to a resident of Anand, initiating a cybercrime investigation under the supervision of Anand Superintendent of Police G.G. Jasani and Cyber Crime Police Inspector C.P. Chaudhary.

Police said the caller was identified as Nitin Dobariya, a labour contractor originally from Virpur in Rajkot district who is currently living in Anand.

Investigators alleged that Dobariya acted in coordination with Ashok Oza, president of the Vadodara city unit of the AAP.

According to the police investigation, Oza and Dobariya allegedly conspired to intimidate AAP worker Keshavji Chauhan.

Police said that on May 28, Oza called Dobariya to Vadodara and a call was subsequently placed from Dobariya’s mobile phone to Chauhan.

During the call, the caller allegedly claimed to be speaking from the “Karelibaug IB Office” and threatened Chauhan under the pretext of conducting a verification exercise.

Investigators said the alleged motive emerged from an internal dispute within the party.

According to police, Chauhan had earlier been sent to Vadodara by the AAP for organisational work, following which Oza allegedly viewed him as a political rival.

Police alleged that the fake verification call was part of a pre-planned effort to force Chauhan to leave Vadodara.

The matter gained wider attention after screenshots and claims relating to the call were circulated on social media. In his post on X, Kejriwal alleged that AAP workers in Gujarat were receiving calls from individuals claiming to be IB officials.

He claimed that he had personally called the number in question and that the person on the line identified himself as being from the IB.

Kejriwal asked under which legal provision such verification was being conducted and urged party workers to make public any similar calls they received.

However, Gujarat Police said its investigation found that the alleged threat call had not originated from any IB official and was instead the result of a conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by individuals linked to the party itself.

A case has been registered at Anand Cyber Crime Police Station under Sections 61(2), 204 and 351(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which deals with cheating by personation using computer resources.

Police said both accused have been taken into custody, and further investigation into the case is continuing.

–IANS

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