‘Shocked I Am Being Sent to 14-Day Custody’: MLA Somnath Bharti
Ink was thrown on the former Delhi government minister in Rae Bareilly, before he was arrested by UP Police.
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AAP MLA Somnath Bharti took to Twitter to express shock as he was asked to be in police custody for 14 days after his bail application was rejected. Bharti was arrested by Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly using “derogatory language” against UP CM Yogi Adityanath.
On Monday, 11 January, Bharti wrote, “Shocked to learn that my bail application has been kept pending till 13th January and I am sent to judicial custody of 14 days.”
Saying that he will continue to “fight for the people of UP against the misrule of Yogi”, Bharti went on to claim that the UP Police was “blatantly lying” that he refused the notice of 41A, which is mandatory under the Criminal Procedure Code of India (CrPC). It dictates that the person against whom the complaint has been made must appear before the police upon notice.
He urged the court to trace his phone location, adding that he will leave politics if he’s telling lies. “It's height of injustice. I urge one and all to speak. I urge Supreme Court to intervene.” he wrote further.
The AAP MLA had an FIR registered against him recently with sections of criminal intimidation, promoting enmity between groups, PTI reported. The complaint was filed by BJP worker Somnath Sahu.
A youth attacked him with ink when he was coming out of a guest house.
Kejriwal Asks UP CM, ‘Are Your Schools So Bad?’
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal addressed the CM of UP and said, “Yogiji, our MLA Somnath Bharti ji was going to see your government school. And you arrested him? Are your schools so bad? If someone goes to see your school why do you get so scared? Fix the school. If you do not want to do, then ask Manish Sisodia.”
Sanjay Singh said, “The dictatorship of the Adityanath government is at its peak.
When AAP raised the question of the plight of schools and hospitals, Adityanath started terrorising AAP leader, former minister and MLA @attorneybharti. But in Rae Bareilly, the men from BJP attacked Somnath and he has been arrested by the police too.”
UP Govt Says Kejriwal Should Tender Apology
Reacting to Bharti'’s remarks, Shalabh Mani Tripathi, information advisor to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister, said that while everyone had a right to contest polls and do politics, "using indecent language for a chief minister, you are using abusive language, you are saying to a policeman who is discharging his duty that his uniform will be removed. This is the language of the goons. Arvind Kejriwal is himself a chief minister. If he has the slightest idea about the post of a chief minister, then he should tender an apology to the entire country for the statement made by Bharti on UP’s popular chief minister."
Shortly before his arrest, Bharti can be heard telling a group of people in the presence of policemen and locals that he will expose UP CM Yogi Adityanath. “Ajay Bisht is a goon. We will expose his ways to the people of Uttar Pradesh.”
A case was registered against Bharti under Section 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) and Section 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code, Additional Superintendent of Police Daya Ram said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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