The Delhi Police on Monday booked a man for allegedly leading a group which surrounded and “wrongfully confined” Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti while he was on his way to the Delhi Assembly last week.
DDA land encroachment
The incident allegedly took place in Safdarjung Enclave and Mr. Bharti had also raised the matter in the Assembly. According to his complaint, the accused — Iqbal Chauhan — had been working at the behest of a ex-BJP councillor, who has allegedly encroached upon DDA land.
Mr. Bharti had alleged that, in a protest of Anganwadi workers, some of whom were willing to work were attacked by the protesters. He said one such attack happened in Hauz Khas on August 8. He said he was going to meet the affected workers three days later when he was stopped.
“Initially, 15-20 people surrounded me and accused me of working against the interests of the ex-councillor as I raised issues as a DDA member opposing the encroachment. Soon, there was a crowd of 30, armed with hockey sticks and chains, and they threatened to kill me,” said Mr. Bharti.
‘Cops late’
The complaint also notes that many of his calls to the police got no response and the police reached 45 minutes late. A senior police officer confirmed a case was been registered at Safdarjung Enclave police station but no arrests have been made yet.