AAP MLA Mahendra Yadav arrested for rioting, assaulting govt official

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from west Delhi’s Vikaspuri constituency Mahendra Yadav has been arrested by the Delhi Police in a case of rioting, damaging public property and stopping public servants from performing duties.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from west Delhi’s Vikaspuri constituency Mahendra Yadav has been arrested by the Delhi Police in a case of rioting, damaging public property and stopping public servants from performing duties.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator from west Delhi’s Vikaspuri constituency Mahendra Yadav has been arrested by the Delhi Police in a case of rioting, damaging public property and stopping public servants from performing duties (Facebook)

Yadav was arrested on Friday afternoon along with his supporter, identified as Rohan Pandit, for allegedly obstructing traffic on main Nihal Vihar-Najafgarh road while protesting against the rape of a 3-year-old girl. One protester was arrested and a juvenile apprehended from the protest site on Thursday itself, the police said.

Minutes after Yadav’s arrest, senior AAP leaders took to Twitter to slam Delhi Police for their action against the MLA. “It is now a crime in Delhi to protest against the rape of a minor when the Police refuses to register an FIR against rape accused (Sic),” tweeted a Delhi government spokesperson.

The police allege that Yadav is responsible for inciting violence among the already angered crowd eventually turning the situation into a full-blown riot.

A senior police officer said that Swati Maliwal, chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), too tried to gain some political mileage by visiting the rape survivor and meeting her family at the hospital on Thursday.

Deependra Pathak, joint commissioner of police (southwestern range), said that even as all necessary actions were taken in the rape case, scores of protesters led by AAP’s Vikaspuri MLA gathered in Nihal Vihar area and began protesting against the Delhi Police.

“Not only did they blocked the traffic, the protesters also damaged some public vehicles and manhandled with the police personnel on duty, preventing them from performing duties. An adult protester and a juvenile were apprehended from the protest spot while the entire protests were videographed by our policemen,” said Pathak.

“A case under sections 147, 148 (rioting), 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) of IPC and section 3 of the prevention of damage to public property act, 1984, was registered at the Nihal Vihar police station,” he said . The arrested persons will be produced before a city court and their police remand will be sought.

This is the sixth arrest of an AAP MLA by the Delhi Police. In November 2015, AAPs MLA Akhilesh Tripathi was held in a 2013 case of rioting and criminal intimidation and sent to judicial custody for two days. Surinder Singh, AAP’s MLA from Delhi Cantonment, was arrested last August for allegedly assaulting an NDMC employee. He was granted bail later. Former Delhi law minister Jitendra Singh Tomar was held in a fake educational degree case in June last year and Kondli legislator Manoj Kumar was apprehended in July in connection with a land fraud case. AAP MLA Somnath Bharti was arrested in September last year after he surrendered in connection with the attempt to murder and domestic violence case filed by his wife.