Cops arrest Ramesh Bhardwaj in AAP worker’s suicide case

Delhi Police Crime Branch on Wednesday arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker Ramesh Bhardwaj from Haryana on charges of abetment to suicide of a fellow party worker, Soni (28) in Outer Delhi’s Narela on July 19. Police have registered a case under Sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to a senior Crime Branch official, they arrested Bhardwaj late Tuesday night. On July 19, Soni allegedly consumed a poisonous substance at her home in Outer Delhi’s Narela area and died during treatment at the LNJP Hospital, said police.

Police said that on July 20, Delhi Police had registered a case of abetment to suicide against Bhardwaj based on recovery of a self shot WhatsApp video from Soni’s phone. In the video, the AAP worker claimed that: “I was denied justice”. After a case was registered by the local police, it was handed over to a Special Investigation Team. In June this year, Soni had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj for allegedly touching her inappropriately and a case of molestation was thereafter registered. 

Meanwhile, Soni’s family members claimed that she had gone into depression after Bhardwaj, her alleged molester and a party colleague, was released on bail. According to police, the woman in her video clip accused Bhardwaj, Amit Kumar and Rajni Kanth of torturing her to withdraw a sexual harassment complaint she filed against Bhardwaj on June 2.