Ashish Pandey, the son of a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP, continued to remain elusive on Wednesday after being booked by the Delhi Police for brandishing a gun at a five-star hotel in the national Capital on Sunday. Delhi's Patiala House Court on Wednesday evening issued a non-bailable warrant against Pandey in connection with the incident.
"A 'look out circular' has been issued against Pandey. Technical surveillance is being carried out to gather clues regarding the hideout of the accused. We have also put airports on alert all over the country and have also alerted Uttar Pradesh — Nepal border about the accused," said a senior police official. "We had also issued a show cause notice to Hyatt Regency for negligence and we have given Hyatt 15 days to respond to the notice," said the senior police official.
The accused, Ashish Pandey, hails from Lucknow and is the son of former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Rakesh Pandey. His brother, Ritesh Pandey, is an MLA in Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi Police has registered FIR under the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code (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). Police on Wednesday also recorded the statement of Gaurav Kanwar, ex-Congress MLA's son, who was threatened by the son of a former BSP MP at a Delhi hotel.
According to the statement given by the victim, the accused pulled out his gun and shouted, "I will kill you" which "scared" the victim to the extent that he did not approach the police. In his statement, Kanwar told police that he had gone to Hyatt Regency hotel on October 13 for dinner with a friend when he found himself at the receiving end of the former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP's son’s hooliganism.
"When we sat down to eat, my friend complained that she was not feeling well and wanted to vomit. She asked me to assist her to the washroom. I held the door and she was puking. No assistant was inside," the victim said in the complaint.
"Three drunk girls walked to the washroom and started abusing me. I stepped back and called hotel security to assist my friend," he added. Kanwar further said that within a few minutes, three to four men walked up to him and hurled abuses at him but he preferred to stay quiet and asked the hotel staff to assist. "The drunken girls also abused and screaming at my friend who was then assisted out of the washroom by the staff, he said adding, that they went back to their table to finish their meal. However, we decided to leave shortly after as they were "scared"," said Kanwar. "As we exited the hotel and waited for their car at the porch, Pandey and his friends approached them and again hurled abuses at them," said the victim.
"The man Pandey walked up to me and showed me his gun, and shouted 'I will kill you'. I requested him not to fight and asked the hotel staff to intervene," Kanwar alleged.
"The girls (with Pandey) started showing the finger to my friend and she also did the same," he added. Kanwar said that he could not muster the courage to approach the police as he was "scared" for his life.
"I did not go to the police to report the incident as I was scared for my life and didn't want my family to be threatened. I have a small child," Kanwar said as he sought police protection. A video of the incident that occurred early on Sunday went viral on social media resulting in a massive public outrage prompting the police to step in and launch a hunt for the accused Ashish Pandey who has since been missing.