AAP MLA Mahinder Yadav gets bail in rioting, assault case

AAP MLA Mahinder Yadav, who was arrested for allegedly rioting and assaulting a public servant during a protest here seeking action against an alleged sexual offender, was today granted bail by a Delhi court.

Metropolitan Magistrate Harvinder Singh, who had yesterday sent Yadav to police custody for a day, released the legislator on bail on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 20,000 and a surety of the like amount.

The legislator from Vikaspuri in West Delhi, along with four others, was arrested yesterday by the police.

The court had yesterday granted bail to four other accused - Rupesh Katyani, Devender Kumar, Roshan Kumar and Shailesh Kumar - who were also arrested in the case.

Advocate Kapil Sharma and Sanjeev Kumar, who appeared for Katyani, had said the four were released on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and a surety of like amount.

According to the police, Yadav had led a violent protest on the evening of January 28 in Nihal Vihar area in West Delhi following sexual assault on a three-year-old girl. A mob had attacked public vehicles and tried to set one of them on fire.

The protesters had demanded immediate arrest of the 38-year-old accused alleging that the police was not pursuing the case promptly, though Joint Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Dependra Pathak had claimed that the alleged culprit was arrested much before the protest.

Yadav is the sixth AAP legislator to be arrested since the Arvind Kejriwal government came to power in Delhi.  Earlier, Akhilesh Tripathi, Somnath Bharti, Commando Surinder Singh, Manoj Kumar and former law minister Jitender Singh Tomar were arrested on various charges.

“A case was registered on the night of January 28 and the MLA was arrested on charges of rioting, arson, assault on public servant, wrongful restraint and damage to public property,” the police had said.

It had said the protesters even manhandled a police team which had tried to pacify the agitators.

Reacting to Yadav’s arrest, AAP’s Delhi Convener Dilip Pandey had tweeted, “Delhi Police busy again arresting AAP MLA instead of ensuring Delhi women safety despite multiple warnings from courts.”