Navneet Chaturvedi remanded into judicial custody in Rajya Sabha nomination forgery case

Navneet Chaturvedi, accused of forging the signatures of 10 AAP MLAs for filing his Rajya Sabha nomination from Punjab last week, was remanded into judicial custody by the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Ropar today.

According to sources, while in police custody from October 16 to 23, Navneet Chaturvedi informed police officials that Vijay Sharma, a Delhi resident, had assured him of the support of over 60 AAP MLAs to ensure his victory in the Rajya Sabha election. Therefore, he decided to file nomination papers. However, when Vijay Sharma did not provide him with a letter of support from the MLAs, Chaturvedi took the signatures of 10 AAP MLAs from the Election Commission website and used them in his nomination papers.

Navneet Chaturvedi today also gave his consent for sending the copy of his nomination papers for forensic examination. SSP Ropar, Gulneet Singh Khurana, said the police would call Vijay Sharma, a Delhi resident, to dispose of the case and corroborate Navneet Chaturvedi’s statement. Chaturvedi claimed before the police that he had forged the signatures of AAP MLAs for fame, Khurana added.

Last week, a high drama unfolded as Chandigarh and Ropar faced off over Navneet Chaturvedi’s arrest. While the Chandigarh Police were protecting him, Ropar police tried to arrest him. It was only after a court order on October 16 around 8.30 pm that the Ropar police got custody of Navneet Chaturvedi. He was produced before the CJM Ropar, who remanded him into police custody till October 23.

The case has been registered against Navneet Chaturvedi based on a complaint by Ropar AAP MLA Dinesh Chadha under Sections 318 (forgery), 336(2), 336(3), 336(4), and Sections 340(2) and 61(2) of the BNS.