A day after an FIR was registered against him for “misbehaving” with some women who had approached him with complains about water woes, AAP MLA Dinesh Mohaniya termed it a conspiracy by the water mafia and the local BJP leaders.
He claimed innocence and said that there was no reason why he would abuse or assault the women. “The woman (the complainant) is lying. She was planted against me. Am I mad that I will simply abuse a complainant who approaches me?” Mohaniya told The Hindu .
The woman, along with some other locals, had visited Mohaniya’s residence on Wednesday to demand that the rights over a borewell installed in her area be handed over to her. Mohaniya had met her a few days earlier too and had promised to look into her request.
While what exactly transpired at Mohaniya’s residence remains unclear, the woman later approached the police to allege that the Sangam Vihar MLA and his men roughed them up, misbehaved with the women, used expletives and threatened to break their bones.
Narrates a different story
Mohaniya, however, had a different tale to narrate. He claimed that the purpose behind the woman’s visit was dubious right from the start.
“Why did she arrive with earthen pots and break them in front of me? She had also brought along some locals who were recording the proceedings on their phones. She did not really want a solution to her problem, her sole motive was to register a police case against me,” alleged the MLA who is also the vice-chairman of Delhi Jal Board.
The police, meanwhile, said that they have begun the probe and will proceed based on whatever evidence comes up before them. “The accused will be questioned in the coming days if the need be. Whether or not we arrest the accused will depend on what evidence we gather,” said a senior police officer.
Only a few days ago, a video circulating on WhatsApp had showed women fighting with each other in nearby South Delhi's Mahipalpur, leading to a news report that irregular water supply to the area was the reason behind the clash.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had ordered his minister Kapil Mishra to visit the area. The same day, the minister had taken to Twitter to rubbish the news, claiming that the fight was over using the road and not over water.
Dinesh Mohaniya claimed innocence and said that there was no reason to assault the women
