4 detained, 1 more FIR against absconding Shrikant Tyagi
Noida: The Noida Police on Saturday said they have detained four close associates and impounded two vehicles of an absconding politician accused of assaulting a woman and have lodged another FIR against him.
The action comes even as BJP continued to distance itself from Shrikant Tyagi, which identified himself as the national executive member of the party's Kisan Morcha and national co-cordinator of its Yuva Samiti. Tyagi was booked under IPC section 354 (assault or use of criminal force on any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty) on Friday over a spat with a co-resident of their housing society in Sector 93B.
The woman objected to plantation of some trees by Shrikant Tyagi, citing violation of rules even as he claimed he was within his rights to do so.
"We had responded immediately after the episode came to light and an FIR was lodged accordingly. Today, during further investigation into the matter, four close associates of Shrikant Tyagi were detained for questioning," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (law and order) Ranvijay Singh said.
"The police team that went to the spot found three vehicles of Tyagi there. Two of them were found violating the Motor Vehicle Act and were impounded. The third vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner, had the official symbol of the Uttar Pradesh government on it but in violation of rules. A separate FIR has been lodged for misuse of government symbol," Singh said. The officer said police teams are continuously raiding possible whereabouts of Tyagi and making all efforts to ensure his arrest at the earliest. He also clarified that no police security was provided to Tyagi by the Gautam Buddh Nagar commissionerate.
Multiple videos of Friday's episode surfaced on social media, purportedly showing Tyagi hurling expletives and assaulting the woman. He also hurled abusive words for her husband and made derogatory remarks about her.
Meanwhile, Gautam Buddh Nagar MP Mahesh Sharma and BJP's Noida unit chief Mahesh Gupta visited the Grand Omaxe society and met the local residents. They told the residents that Tyagi is not a member of the BJP and assured their party's support. Congress and Aam Aadmi Party in Uttar Pradesh slammed the BJP over the episode. At a press conference in Noida, Congress's Pankhuri Pathak shared pictures of Tyagi with senior BJP leaders as she hit out at the party for "anti-women" attitude.
She also accused the BJP of "lying through their teeth" over Tyagi's association with the party. "Today the BJP is saying Shrikant Tyagi is not member of the party. But he was moving around with a security staff that not even MLAs or ministers have. One can imagine the clout he had in this government," Pathak said.
