‘Worked for animal welfare': Man who attacked Delhi CM Rekha Gupta visited Ayodhya, loves monkeys
The sources said Rajeshbhai Khimjibhai Sakriya told the Delhi Police during interrogation that after the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya last year, the administration launched a campaign to remove monkeys from the temple premises.
They said Sakriya told the police that he travelled from his hometown, Rajkot in Gujarat, to Ayodhya earlier this year, offered prayers at the temple, and fed the monkeys. The sources added that he told the police that he spent some time with the monkeys before leaving the city.
The Delhi Police will contact their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat to verify his travel history to these places, the sources added.
The police said Sakriya also told them he had staged a protest earlier this year in Khodaldham, Rajkot, for the welfare of stray cattle.
'During interrogation, he revealed that he is an animal lover and has worked in several places across Gujarat and other parts of the country for animal welfare,' an officer, privy to the probe, said.
Sakriya's mother, Bhanu Khimjibhai Sakriya, told reporters in Rajkot that her son was a dog lover and was upset over the Supreme Court order directing authorities in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) to pick up all stray dogs and put them in shelters.
The police have said Sakriya attacked Rekha Gupta, allegedly over a video clip in which she can be heard speaking about stray dogs. Before attacking Rekha Gupta, while she was holding a public meeting at her camp office, he also talked about the issue, the officer said.
The police said the actual cause of the attack is yet to be ascertained, as they are still interrogating him.
According to police records, Sakriya has been booked in five cases of assault, and creating a ruckus under the influence of alcohol in Gujarat.
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