In a case that has turned an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) social media offensive on its head, the Gujarat Police have arrested two men, including the president of the party’s Vadodara city unit, for allegedly making a “threat call” to a party leader by posing as an Intelligence Bureau (IB) official.

Anand Superintendent of Police (SP) G G Jasani said on Saturday that the investigation stemmed from a post made by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on X, “raising questions about whether Gujarat Police and IB were harassing workers in the name of verification”.

Kejriwal’s post, the police said, followed a post by former Delhi MLA Durgesh Pathak, who alleged on X that Gujarat Police’s IB wing was intimidating AAP workers. The post named a specific mobile number as the source of the alleged harassment.

In his post, Kejriwal said, “This is a serious matter… I called on this number and asked, ‘Are you speaking from IB?’ and he said, ‘Yes’. I said, ‘I am Arvind Kejriwal speaking… Which law are you conducting the verification under?’ He disconnected the call and then did not accept calls… IB said this is their number. IB is calling our leaders for such things… All of you call on this number and ask under which law does one need to undergo IB verification for working for travelling from one state to another for work…”.

“When I go next to Gujarat, I will personally visit the IB office and ask them. If any party leader in Gujarat gets a call from the IB, they should put it out on social media so that the people can also ask them,” Kejriwal added, reposting Pathak’s post.

In a statement on Saturday, SP Jasani said, “As the mobile phone number mentioned in the tweet belonged to a user residing in Anand, taking note of the seriousness of the matter, an investigation was initiated”.

The phone number allegedly led the Cyber Crime police straight back to AAP. The number was traced to Nitin Dobriya, a labour contractor living in Anand. Investigation revealed that Dobriya had allegedly acted at the behest of Ashok Oza, the president of the party’s Vadodara unit. Oza had allegedly called Dobariya to Vadodara. Using Dobriya’s phone, a call was allegedly made to AAP worker Keshavji Chauhan, in which the caller identified himself as an official of the “Karelibaug IB Office” and threatened Chauhan under the guise of a verification exercise.

The police said that the motive was purely “internal rivalry” of the party as Oza reportedly “viewed Chauhan as a political rival within the party” after AAP had deployed Chauhan to Vadodara for party work.

“To drive Chauhan away from Vadodara, the scheme was executed in a premeditated manner through Nitin, who made the call with a false identity. The matter subsequently went viral on social media… Thus, as the accused persons were found to have created a false identity as an IB officer through digital means and issued threats, legal action has been initiated against both accused,” the SP added.

Both Oza and Dobriya have been arrested after a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged under sections 61(2), 204, and 351(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, as well as Section 66-D of the IT Act, 2000, on charges of providing for criminal impersonation, cheating by personation using digital means, and criminal intimidation.

On Saturday, fielding questions about the development at a press conference, Gujarat AAP president Isudan Gadhvi said, “This is shocking for us as well… This matter has come to my attention… the complete truth has to come out. At present, discussions are based only on preliminary information. When the complete facts and details come out, there will be greater clarity. For me too, this incident is surprising and concerning. If any connections or responsibilities emerge in Gujarat, our party will also take appropriate action in this matter.”