Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Uttam Nagar Naresh Balyan was on Friday arrested in connection with an alleged assault case. The MLA was granted bail post midnight.
Mr. Balyan and an accomplice are accused of roughing up a residents’ welfare association (RWA) president this past week.
Mr. Balyan is the 14th MLA from the party to be arrested since it came to power early last year. Among the 14 MLAs, at least two have been arrested twice in connection with different cases.
“The arrest was made on Friday evening. We had called him to the police station along with Mahaveer Fauji,, his co-accused in the case. We arrested them after questioning them,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vijay Kumar.
The case was registered on October 9 after former AAP volunteer and Mohan Garden RWA president Henry George approached the police with a complaint.
Mr. George accused Mr. Balyan and his associates of trespassing his office, attacking him and issuing threat to his life. One supporter, Mr. Fauji, was identified and named in the first information report. The case was lodged under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 451 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code at Uttam Nagar police station.
Mr. Balyan made similar allegations against Mr. George. A counter FIR, based on Mr. Balyan’s allegations that Mr. George abused and assaulted him and his supporters, was filed at the same police station. On the status of the other case, the police claimed Mr. George was currently on the run.
“He is absconding. We have formed teams to track him down. His arrest is inevitable as he faces similar charges, which amount to a cognisable offence. We hope to arrest him soon,” said Mr. Kumar.
