AAP MlA from Sangam Vihar and Vice-Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), Dinesh Mohaniya was on Saturday arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly misbehaving with a group of women who had gone to him to complain about a water crisis. Police dragged him from his seat while he was addressing a Press conference at his office in Khanpur in South Delhi.
Reacting to the arrest, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “Modi declares Emergency in Delhi. Arresting, raiding, terrorising, filing false cases against all those whom Delhi elected. Mohaniya arrested from his Press conference in front of all TV cameras. What message does Modi want to give to everyoneIJ”
Mohaniya, was booked on June 23 after locals of Sangam Vihar alleged that the MlA and his supporters roughed them up and misbehaved with women in his office when they went to complain about irregular water supply.
He has been booked on charges of causing hurt, criminal intimidation and using word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. A city court has also rejected his bail plea and sent to three days judicial custody.
Giving vent to his ire Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said Modi has “failed to crush” the AAP in Delhi which is doing politics of honesty. “The way serious charges have been slapped on Mohaniya suggests that Modi is baffled....The way Delhi Police came to arrest AAP MlA is condemnable. Police picked up Mohaniya in the middle of a live Press conference as if he is a notorious terrorist,” Sisodia said. Another AAP leader Ashish Talwar tweeted, “Modi’s year long celebrations of 40 years of Emergency began with his police arresting AAP MlA @DineshMohaniya in the middle of a presser.”
Mohaniya is the eight AAP MlA who is arrested by Delhi Police since the party came to power for the second time in Delhi February 2015.
At the time of being dragged away by police, Mohaniya said,”You can see how the police is dragging me away like hooligans would in front of your eyes,” to Press reporters. The MlA has rubbished all the allegations, saying it was an attempt to defame him as the water mafia is frustrated because of the Delhi Government’s crackdown.
According to police, Mohaniya was picked up from the conference as he was avoiding the notices served to him for cooperating in the investigation in the cases against him. Police said that they had even reached his house at 2 am in the intervening night of Friday and Saturday to serve him notice but he was not present home and the occupants of his house did not accept the notice. “ We had to pick him up in between the Press conference as he was avoiding our notices served to him for cooperating in our investigation in the cases registered against him,” said a senior police officer.
“Mohaniya has been arrested under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 A (Sexual harassment), 354 B (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 354 C (Voyeurism), said Joint Commissioner of Police(south East) RP Upadhyay.
The complainants recorded their statements before a Metropolitan Magistrate on Friday on the basis of which police registered a case under Section 506 (criminal intimidation), Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code at the Neb Sarai Police Station.
Another case has been registered against Mohaniya for allegedly slapping a 60-year-old man in Tughlaquabad area on Friday. “Today (Friday), when we went to Dinesh Mohaniya’s office, he refused to identify me. I must say that I go to him daily because of water issues. The most important part is that he doesn’t even sign or puts a stamp on our complaints. After that, he pushed me and other women and even abused us. We want that an FIR should be registered against him and he should be arrested,” said the complainant, a senior citizen. “When he abused and pushed us, we also did the same. Are we here to be beaten upIJ There is a severe water issue here. We went there only to ask for water and not for money,” said the elderly man who was roughed up.
A case regarding the incident was registered against Mohaniya under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341(punishment for wrongful restraint) and 34 (act done by several persons) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Govindpuri Police Station.