JOIN USLegislator held for AAP worker's suicide
After four days of grilling, AAP legislator from Narela Sharad Chauhan was arrested in connection with the suicide of a woman volunteer whose pleas for help against alleged sexual harassment by a “party worker” went unheard.
The lawmaker, arrested for abetment of suicide along with seven other accused, was on Sunday sent to a day’s judicial custody by a court in Rohini. The court rejected the police plea to send the accused to police custody.
Chauhan’s arrest late on Saturday night gave the rival BJP a handle to dub the ruling party as an anti-women organisation. With Chauhan’s arrest the shame list of arrested AAP legislators has touched 12. Apart from Chauhan, no other legislator is in jail at present.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravinder Yadav called the suicide “tragic” and told reporters on Sunday that Chauhan was slapped with penal charges of abetment of suicide, conspiracy and destruction of evidence.
The woman AAP worker, for whose suicide Chauhan has landed behind bar, died after consuming poison in Narela and died in LNJP Hospital on July 19. She earlier blamed the legislator for protecting her alleged molester.
Yadav said:”The victim, who owned a beauty parlour, was threatened and hounded by masked bikers sent by accused, issued threat letters and given life threat on phones.”
Last Sunday, Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan was arrested by Delhi Police for attempt to commit culpable homicide and Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav was arrested on July 24 by Punjab Police for desecration of the Holy Quran.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has maintained that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is misusing Delhi Police to vent his political frustration and target AAP legislators.
“Even people have started saying that it is too much,” said Kejriwal last week, signalling that rounding up of MLAs on fake and frivolous charges may get more intense in coming days.
In the Narela AAP worker’s suicide, the police have so far arrested eight people, including the legislator, an assistant sub-inspector of police Mukhtiar and a government school teacher.
Ramesh Bhardwaj, an alleged aide of Chauhan and main accused and perpetrator of the alleged sexual harassment of the suicide victim, was arrested by a Delhi Police team from Sonipat in Haryana on July 26.
The victim woman filed a molestation case in June against Bhardwaj for allegedly touching her inappropriately. The accused was arrested and later released on bail.
The victim’s husband claimed she was depressed after Bhardwaj was released on bail and feared victimisation by him.
BJP’s Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta tweeted recently that the AAP had offered inducements to the victim’s husband – a charge denied by the ruling party.
AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai slammed the BJP for “playing politics over the death of a poor woman”.