National Conference leader and former BJP MLA Gagan Bhagat who had allegedly thrashed an elected woman Sarpanch in broad daylight in RS Pura area last week was finally arrested by the J&K police on Thursday. He was picked up by the police from the court premises in Jammu where he had moved an application to earn an anticipatory bail.
Gagan Bhagat had reportedly thrashed Seema Devi, an elected Sarpanch from village Jindher Melu in Miran Sahib, on Saturday after a verbal brawl over the issue of taking credit for installation of a power transformer in the area. Gagan wanted to inaugurate the power transformed claiming he had provided funds for the same from his Constituency development fund while woman sarpanch stood her ground claiming she pursued the case and got it approved for the area from the Power development department on her own. Abusing her in full public view Gagan had attacked her along with her supporters and even questioned her credentials,ignoring the fact that she was an elected public representative and discharging her duties of addressing general grievances of common people of her area. Police had registered counter FIR's in the case but acted against the former MLA on Thursday after a state level body of elected sarpanches and panches also staged protest demonstrations against him and appealed to the state governor to take action as per rule of law against the former MLA for thrashing and abusing an elected representative.