The gun wielding son of former Member of Parliament of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has been booked for allegedly threatening a couple in foyer of Hyatt Regency hotel in South Delhi. The video of Ashish Pandey brandishing a gun and abusing the couple went viral, police said Tuesday.
Ashish, hails from Lucknow and is the son of former BSP MP Rakesh Pandey. His brother, Ritesh Pandey, is a sitting MLA in Uttar Pradesh. In a related development Director General of Police (DGP) of Uttar Pradesh has formed three police teams to trace Ashish and bring him to justice. A team of Delhi Police reached Lucknow on Tuesday in connection with the investigation into the incident.
The Delhi Police said an FIR has been registered under the Arms Act and sections of the IPC, including those related to causing hurt (323), criminal intimidation (506) and using force with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman (354).
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, police said. In the video, Ashish can purportedly be seen brandishing a gun in the foyer of the hotel, a police officer said. Initially the case was registered under the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were added later, police said, adding that they have also reached out to their Uttar Pradesh counterparts. The complaint about the incident was received
Monday from the assistant security manager of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in RK Puram, following which a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued, they said.
After the video of the incident went viral, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said police had initiated action in the case.
“The Delhi Police has initiated action on this incident which is also being shown in the media. An FIR has been registered under the Arms Act and the IPC. Strong and appropriate action will be taken. Also verifying the identity of others,” the Minister tweeted.
“No PCR call was made by any of the parties or even by the hotel authorities. It is negligence on the part of the hotel as something major could have happened. “We are exploring legal options in the matter and will also inform our licensing branch that will see what action can be taken against the hotel,” another officer privy to the probe said.
He said after the video went viral, police contacted the hotel authorities and then they lodged the complaint.
The police said it had issued a LOC and also contacted their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh. Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Ajay Chaudhary said the incident took place on October 14 at 3.40 am.
Facing heat from the Delhi Police for not reporting the incident, the Hyatt Regency issued a statement, “We take the incident that occurred at Hyatt Regency, Delhi, on seriously and have been working with the local police authorities on the same.” “We assure our support and will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities in reference to any further investigation on this matter,” it said.