Observing that “there is no mention of the name of the accused in the last recorded statement (dying declaration) of the deceased”, a Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to AAP’s Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan who has been charged with allegedly abetting a woman worker of the party to commit suicide.
Thoroughly interrogatedAdditional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan, who granted bail to the MLA on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 30,000 with one surety of a like amount, said: “As per the investigating agency, before the arrest of the accused, he had been thoroughly interrogated. No useful purpose will be served by keeping the accused in further custody. In totality of facts and circumstances of the case, the accused is entitled to bail.”
Advocate Pradeep Rana, appearing for Mr. Chauhan, submitted that the MLA had been falsely implicated in the case.
“AML”He said Mr. Chauhan was not the person referred as “AML” in the alleged WhatsApp message sent by the deceased in which she accused three persons -- Ramesh Bhardwaj, Amit Bhardwaj and Rajni Kant -- of abetting her to take the extreme step. She did not name the MLA even in her statement recorded by a Magistrate, Mr. Rana added.
The victim had sent the WhatsApp message on a group just after consuming poison.
A different court had earlier refused to grant bail to Mr. Chauhan.
The woman had committed suicide on July 19 after being allegedly harassed by Ramesh Bharadwaj, a close associate of Mr. Chauhan. Mr. Bharadwaj had allegedly molested the woman last December and had been threatening her using the MLA’s name.
Opposing the bail plea, the police said that the MLA and the other accused had allegedly helped Mr. Bharadwaj in harassing the woman and creating circumstances which forced her to take the extreme step.
Mr. Chauhan also tried to shield Mr. Bharadwaj and guided him at every step — from diluting the initial complaint to bribing the investigating officer to go slow on the molestation complaint against him, the police alleged.
Pressure tacticsAccording to the police, the MLA used other tactics to put pressure on the woman to withdraw the molestation complaint against Mr. Bharadwaj. After she failed to get justice at the party forum and even returned empty handed from the Chief Minister’s residence, Mr. Chauhan and his supporters launched a campaign to malign her image and used their clout to get the name of the woman’s daughter removed from the school rolls, the police further alleged.
