Bhanuben, mother of Rajesh Khimji—the man who attacked Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Wednesday—claimed her son acted out of “love for dogs” and urged the Chief Minister to forgive him.
Appealing for leniency, she said her family is poor and that Rajesh, a rickshaw driver with a wife and son, was disturbed after watching videos on social media of stray dogs being taken away in Delhi.
“My son did this out of his love for dogs. I appeal to the CM that my son should be forgiven; we are poor people,” Bhanuben told ANI.
She added that Rajesh, a devotee of Mahadev who frequently visited Ujjain, had told his father over the phone that he was in Delhi “regarding the dogs” before abruptly hanging up. “He was agitated after seeing those videos. He even stopped eating,” she said.
CCTV footage has since revealed Rajesh surveying CM Rekha Gupta’s Shalimar Bagh residence on August 19, a day before he attacked her during a Jan Sunvai. He has been arrested following the incident.
Meanwhile, BJP leaders raised suspicions of a larger conspiracy. MLA Harish Khurana said the attacker’s act of taking photos of the CM’s residence pointed towards a planned assault. “The police will investigate whether it was politically motivated. The CM is under treatment but she will not stop her work,” he said.
BJP MLA Satish Upadhyay also condemned the incident, saying, “The Chief Minister is alright. Nobody can stop her work for Delhi’s progress. This attack will not be forgiven by the public and the authorities.”
