Court asks IO to appear with reply on Somnath Bharti's plea for probe

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court today directed the investigating officer (IO) to appear before it on January 16 with a reply on Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) leader Somnath Bharti's plea for further probe in the case of alleged molestation of some African women during his purported midnight raid here.

Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Ankita Lal posted the matter for hearing on January 16 as neither Delhi Police's IO nor Bharti's counsel was present in the court during the day.

"I have pursued the record. Let the matter be listed for the purpose fixed i.e hearing on the plea of further probe on January 16, 2015. IO is directed to appear on the next date of hearing," the magistrate said.

On November 5, the court had transferred the matter, including Bharti's plea seeking registration of FIR against unknown police officials, to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) after his counsel had objected to "longer" date of hearing given by it.

The CMM had yesterday marked the case for further hearing to the court of MM Lal after Bharti's plea was dismissed.

Earlier on October 27, when the magisterial court was scheduled to hear arguments on the point of consideration of charge sheet, Bharti had moved a plea for further probe in the case alleging that he was falsely implicated in the matter.

The court had thereafter asked the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and the station house officer of Malviya Nagar police station to respond to Bharti's plea within a month.

In its charge sheet filed on September 27, Delhi Police had said that "nine African women were victims of molestation and manhandling by a mob led by the then Law Minister Somnath Bharti".