Midnight raid: Delhi Court orders framing of charges against ex-Minister Bharti

In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party AAP a Delhi court has ordered framing of charges against former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti for molestation and house trespassing among others in connection with alleged January 2014 midnight raid in Khirki ExtensionThe Patiala House Court in Delhi on June 29 ordered that charges be framed against Bharti and 16 others in the case lodged after Malviya Nagar MLA Bharti barged into the homes of nine Ugandan nationals in Khirki Extension along with some followers on the intervening night of January 15 and 16The court ordered framing of charges against Bharti and others under sections 147149 rioting 354 molestation 354C voyeurism 342 wrongful confinement 506 criminal intimidation 143 unlawful assembly 509 outraging a womans modesty 153A promoting enmity between two groups or religions 323 assault 452 house trespass 427 criminal trespass and 186 obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions of the IPCSome of the charges are of crime against women hence nonbailableAdditional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Samar Vishal in the order said By no stretch of imagination it can be assumed that whatever offences are alleged to have been done by accused Somnath Bharti can be said to have been done in the discharge of his official duties I am unable to understand what official duty prompted him to assault the helpless women of foreign origin in the midnight at around 1 amOrdering framing of charges the court said there was sufficient evidence that some of these victims were beaten and were caused simple hurt punishable under Section 323 of the IPCSome of these victims have alleged that they were assaulted and their modesty was outraged they were forced to urinate in front of that mob and therefore this mob has committed an offence under sections 354 and 354C of IPCBharti had alleged that he had received many complaints from residents of the area regarding a drugs and prostitution ring being run by the Ugandan nationals But no drug recovery was made that night and two FIRs were filed against Bharti He also had an altercation with the police on the issueThe chargesheet was filed was over 100page document The police had cited around 41 prosecution witnesses including nine African women to buttress the chargesThe police lodged an FIR January 19 2014 against unknown accused on the courts direction and booked them for various chargesThe two Ugandan women had sought registration of an FIR against unknown people for creating a ruckus during the raid between 1 am and 3 am in Khirki ExtensionCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever