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AAP MLA, 5 others discharged in case of abetting party worker’s 2016 suicide
Special judge MK Nagpal, however, directed to frame charges against one of Chauhan’s associates, Ramesh Bhardwaj, saying there was sufficient prima facie evidence against him.
A local court on Thursday discharged Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Narela MLA Sharad Chauhan and five others of all charges in a case of abetment of suicide by a party worker in 2016.
Special judge MK Nagpal, however, directed to frame charges against one of Chauhan’s associates, Ramesh Bhardwaj, saying there was sufficient prima facie evidence against him.
The court, in its 75-page order, said that simply because Chauhan was the local MLA and Bhardwaj, or any other accused was close to him, cannot be considered as an incriminating circumstance against him, and to hold him prima facie responsible for the offence of abetment of a suicide.
According to the prosecution, the woman consumed a poisonous substance at her home in Northwest Delhi’s Narela and died during treatment at the Lok Nayak Hospital.
A month prior to committing suicide, the woman filed a complaint against Bhardwaj alleging sexual harassment, after which he was arrested and later released on bail.
The family members of the woman claimed that Chauhan was protecting Bhardwaj.
The prosecution said that the woman, in a video clip, also levelled serious allegations against Bhardwaj, accusing him of pressuring her to compromise if she wanted to rise in the party.
In a statement, the AAP said the Rouse Avenue district court discharged MLA Sharad Kumar Chauhan in the abetment to suicide case, and took note of the fact that there was no prima facie evidence against him.
“...It has been further found by the court that MLA Sharad Kumar Chauhan has not been named in the audio/video recordings of the dying declarations of the deceased,” the Aam Aadmi Party said in the statement.
