Midnight raid: Seeking sanction against Somnath Bharti, police to court

NEW DELHI: Delhi police is seeking prosecution sanction from competent authority on a priority basis against AAP leader Somnath Bharti in the case of alleged molestation of African women during his midnight-raid last year, police said today in a report filed in a court here.

Delhi police, in its report filed before Metropolitan Magistrate (MM) Ankita Lal, said it has written to the competent authority as per the direction of the court to grant prosecution sanction against Bharti expeditiously.

Special Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastava filed the report of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and the reply of Investigating Officer's (IO) on Bharti's plea for further probe in the case in a sealed cover after which the court fixed the matter for further hearing on July 14.

On January 16, the court had issued notice to DCP and gave a last chance to Investigating Officer Vijay Chandel to get prosecution sanction against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bharti.

In its charge sheet filed on September 27 last year, 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".

In the charge sheet, Bharti and 17 others have been booked under various sections of the IPC, including 354 (outraging women's modesty), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting).

The police arrayed 41 people as prosecution witnesses in the case, including nine Ugandan women, who were allegedly beaten up and molested by the mob led by Bharti on the intervening night of January 15-16, 2014.

In its charge sheet, police had said forensic reports of the victim's urine samples were awaited but reports of video footage collected from CCTV cameras installed at AIIMS, where the victims were taken for medical check-up, and news channels have been received.