Framed in maid murder case, claims BSP MP Dhananjay Singh

NEW DELHI: BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, arrested along with his wife Jagriti in connection with murder of their domestic help, today claimed in a Delhi court that he has been "framed" in the case and was residing separately from his spouse due to her "unpredictable and violent behaviour".

In his bail plea, Dhananjay, BSP MP from Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh, said that even as per the FIR lodged in the case the alleged torture meted out to the maid started from November 1 and she died purportedly on November 4, the period during which he was in his constituency.

He said he had already filed a divorce petition before a court here as Jagriti, a dental surgeon at the RML Hospital here, used to suffer from "bouts of hyper anger" and she also used to become "violent".

The MP also said that in May last year, he took his wife to a doctor for advise on change in her "behavioural and mental status" but she did not continue with the medicines prescribed to her.

Dhananjay said as he was residing separately, the servants working at his official residence at 175, South Avenue, where his wife used to live, were at the "discretion" of Jagriti and he used to only pay their salary.

He said after he came to Delhi from his constituency from November 4, he informed the police about the matter and his continuous absence from the house where the incident took place "speaks volume about his non-complicity".

In his plea filed through advocates S P M Tripathi and Santosh Pandey, he said, "the mens rea which is pre-requisite of offence of abatement is completely missing because neither the applicant (MP) was disgruntled with the complainant nor he had any motive to inflict or get inflicted any injury on the complainant or the deceased."

Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha, who today sent Dhananjay and Jagriti to judicial custody till November 15, directed the police to file a reply on the bail plea and fixed it for hearing on November 15.