Man who assaulted Kapil Mishra tells cops his hand 'accidentally brushed him'

Ankit Bhardwaj, who was tagged a BJP worker by the Aam Aadmi Party after he assaulted former Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra on Wednesday, has claimed that he only wanted to meet Mishra and strike a dialogue with him, police said on Thursday.

"When he was questioned, Bhardwaj told us that he only wanted to meet Kapil Mishra. When he reached the venue, where Mishra was on a hunger strike, he told us that he merely waved his hand which had brushed against the Minister. Without giving his a chance to explain he was assaulted. We are still verifying his claims," said a police source from North District.

The police picked him up after he was caught and thrashed by Mishra's supporters. Bhardwaj was alleged to have assaulted Mishra and was later handed over to the police.

During his interrogation, Bhardwaj also rubbished rumours that he was a BJP agent and told his interrogators that he was a chartered accountant, who later became active in politics after he was inspired by DelhiChief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The AAP had disassociated itself from Bhardwaj, claiming he was a member of Bharatiya Jan Yuva Morcha, the BJP youth wing. However, Bhardwaj told police that he had been associated with AAP.

Bhardwaj, a chartered accountant by profession, had quit his job and got associated with the AAP since 2014. His claims of being a chartered accountant was verified by the police.

He is a resident of South Delhi's Moti Bagh and his father is a head constable with the Secretariat Security Force (SSF).

"He was a volunteer since 2014. He has done some work with Mohalla clinics in Mundka area," said a police official privy to the investigation.

Bhardwaj has been booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC, both bailable sections. He will be produced in a court on Thursday, police said.