A 30-year-old man was apprehended on Saturday for allegedly issuing a death threat under the influence of alcohol to Delhi CM Rekha Gupta, after police refused to help him contact his estranged wife, an official said. Accused Shlok Tripathi alias Shlok Tiwari was apprehended in a joint operation conducted by the Delhi Police and the Uttar Pradesh Police from Ghaziabad, he added.
The accused is being jointly interrogated at the office of the Delhi Police’s Special Staff in northwest Delhi by the Uttar Pradesh Police, Delhi Police, Special Cell and Intelligence Bureau, a senior police officer said. Shlok, who is pursuing an LLB (Bachelor of Laws) degree and works as a deed writer at the Ghaziabad court, was married in 2020.
However, his wife has been living separately in Delhi since last year, while he resides in Ghaziabad with his mother and sister. While he mentioned during interrogation that his wife left her matrimonial house due to a dispute between her and his mother, police said she possibly took the decision as the accused has a drinking problem.
“He wanted to talk and meet his wife, who has been living separately from him due to his alcohol addiction. He was also in a nasha mukti kendra for three months last year,” the officer said. In a desperate attempt to talk to his wife, the accused dialled the emergency helpline number 112 in Ghaziabad on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, the officer added.
“At first, he did not mention the Delhi chief minister’s name. He asked police to make his wife come back and complained that she was not talking to him. However, when police did not pay heed, he threatened to kill the Chief Minister,” he said.
The accused was reportedly under depression due to the separation with his wife, the officer said, adding that he has a history of making anonymous calls to police.
Following the threatening call, the Ghaziabad Police alerted its Delhi counterparts and dispatched a team to Panchwati Colony, from where the call was reportedly made, but the caller managed to evade getting caught, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ghaziabad, Ritesh Tripathi said.
Meanwhile, police have increased Gupta’s security details and strengthened it outside her northwest Delhi residence. The chief minister receives a “Z” category security cover of the Delhi Police.
