New Delhi: Delhi Police is seeking custody of AAP leader Somnath Bharti's missing Labrador in an alleged case of domestic violence filed against him by his wife Lipika Mitra.
According to police, the recovery of Bharti's pet dog can provide crucial inputs to look into the probe with broader aspect since the dog was alleged to have bitten Bharti's pregnant wife at his behest.
“He (the dog) has been missing since the complaint has been filed. He is very crucial to the investigation. We have conducted searches at Bharti's residence and at his office. However, we have not able to find him (Don). We have to recover him. Bharti knows where he is. The dog's denture marks will prove how the accused incited the dog to attack the victim when she was pregnant,” special public prosecutor Shailender Babbar said.
The alleged move by Bharti was a serious crime, liable to be punished under attempt to murder, the prosecutor further said.
Lipika had in past said that Bharti ‘made his dog attack me'. “While the dog attacked me, Somnath Bharti was standing and watching me getting mauled. I was bitten by the dog at multiple places in my stomach and private parts. Bharti crossed all barriers of brutality,” she said.
Additional sessions judge Sanjay Garg observed that a perusal of the FIR shows that the complainant has narrated specific incidents of cruelty against the applicant…
“As per the complaint, when she asked the applicant to pay rent, he not only tried to strangulate her but also unleashed his dog on her despite knowing that she was in the seventh month of her pregnancy. The dog had bitten the complainant at multiple places on her stomach and private parts,” Garg said.
“Considering the allegation, the contention of (Bharti's) counsel that the commission of offence under 307 (attempt to murder) IPC is not made out cannot be accepted at this stage… the applicant is not entitled to grant of anticipatory bail,” Garg added.
Last week, police had registered an FIR against Bharti under IPC Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 498A (cruelty towards partner in marriage), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Meanwhile, Bharti today moved the Delhi High Court seeking protection from arrest in case.
