The Delhi Police will be collecting the AAP legislator Somnath Bharti’s pet labrador, Don’s denture marks as evidence that the dog had allegedly attacked his wife Lipika Mitra on his command.
Police have claimed that Mitra has already captured the pictures of the ‘bite marks’ and has also submitted the medical examination reports of the wounds. “The denture marks will help in establishing whether the marks were caused by Somnath Bharti’s dog’s bites,” said a senior investigator in the case.
Bharti’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, meanwhile, told The Hindu that police were “more than welcome” to take the dog’s denture marks. “They could have taken it earlier as well. What stopped them so far?” Mr. Aggarwal asked.
The dog’s role has gained significance in the case because Bharti’s estranged wife has accused him of ordering the animal to attack her while she was heavily pregnant.
She alleged that the dog bit her in her stomach and other body parts.
With Bharti in police custody now, there are also plans to take him to Agra and Mathura to confront those who ‘harboured’ him when he was ‘absconding’. If that is not possible in the two days when he is in police custody, they might seek an extension of his custody.
“Our assessment is that a minimum of five days of the accused person’s custody is required to confront him with every allegation against him. We will assess the situation at the end of the two days and will seek an extension of his custody if required,” said Dependra Pathak, Joint CP (South-Western Range).
However, police will not be confronting him with his wife as they don’t want to “embarrass” his wife any further. “Somnath’s wife has already recorded her statements in front of a magistrate. We will instead pose questions based on her recorded statements,” said a senior police officer.
Police have prepared a long list of questions that will be put forward to Bharti. On Tuesday evening, he was taken to a residential society in Dwarka where, according to his wife, he had attacked her with a knife.
Meanwhile, Bharti was formally arrested around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, a few hours after he surrendered at Dwarka (North) police station. Since this police station is a temporary one and does not have a lock-up, he was taken to Dwarka Sector-23 police station after a medical check-up was conducted.
Police said, barring a separate lock-up for him, they accorded him no preferential treatment. “It would have been risky for him to keep any other prisoner in the same lock-up,” explained an officer. In keeping with the ‘standard procedure’, Bharti was provided two blankets in the lock-up that lacks fans. He had dinner provided by the police and slept in the lock-up from 5 a.m. to 8.30 a.m. before being questioned again.
The questioning was conducted in the IO’s room.
But Bharti refused to oblige his interrogators after surrendering, alleged police.
“He allegedly refused to share anything on where all he had stayed during his absconding period and who had harboured him. When questioned about the allegations against him, he denied everything,” said the investigator.
The Joint CP Mr. Pathak said Bharti did not cooperate even in completing certain formalities. Bharti’s lawyer, Mr. Aggarwal, said it was illegal for the police to force anyone to sign any statement.
He dismissed police’s allegations that Bharti was not cooperating with the police saying it was police’s standard statement in court to seek remand. “My client is protected by right against self-incrimination,” Mr. Aggarwal said.
We will assess the situation at the end of the two days and will seek an extension of Bharti’s custody if required
With Bharti in police custody now, there are also plans to take him to Agra and Mathura to confront those who ‘harboured’ him when he was ‘absconding’
