Somnath Bharti held for inciting mob, gets bail

AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, who was arrested on Thursday for inciting a mob to damage a part of the AIIMS boundary wall and misbehaving with security officials, was granted bail by a Delhi court which ruled that chances of the legislator fleeing from justice was remote and he deserved the relief.

He was the second party legislator arrested by Delhi police within the past 24 hours. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed surprise that at a time when the Prime Minister should be focusing on the Uri terror attack, his machinery was still targeting AAP. “I am amazed at a time when PM should be working on Uri, his machinery is working overtime to get AAP MLAs arrested or me implicated in false cases,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader tweeted, referring to the terror attack on an Army camp in Uri in Kashmir that left 18 soldiers dead.

Bharti was arrested by a police team from Malviya Nagar in the afternoon and taken to Hauz Khas police station where the case was registered against him on September 11. “He was taken to Hauz Khas police station and was produced before a court later in the day,” a senior south Delhi police officer said.

The case against Bharti was registered on a complaint filed by chief security officer of AIIMS R.S. Rawat. In his complaint to the police Rawat had said that Bharti had provoked the mob to damage the fence of the hospital with JCB at Gautam Nagar Nallah road in order to give access to unauthorised persons inside AIIMS property and also misbehaved with security personnel.

The case was registered against Bharti under IPC sections 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions), 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 3/4 Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. Bharti had then defended his action and accused AIIMS of “lying” on the issue.

“AIIMS is lying. They have been denying legitimate access to Gautam Nagar residents. AIIMS even refused to PWD meetings. Wherever common man will be troubled I will go. The allegation that residents dismantled the wall is a blatant lie. I will fight in court,” he had tweeted.