Domestic violence complaint against Somnath Bharti

DCW chief Barkha Singh said the AAP MLA from Malviya Nagar has been asked to reply to the notices by June 26.

“Me and my children are subject to harassment and torture — mental, physical and oral — by my husband Somnath Bharti... There is a persistent threat from my husband and his supporters,” the MLA’s wife Lipika Bharti said in the complaint. A lawyer by profession, Bharti who was Law Minister during AAP’s first stint of 49-day government, denied the allegations calling them “totally baseless”.

“... My wife says I should quit politics... I am deeply pained. I love my wife and my little children,” Bharti, who is in Kerala, said.

The DCW chief said Lipika in her complaint has levelled “charges of dowry, cheating, forgery, physical and mental harassment.

“As per her complaint, she works in a multinational company and married Bharti in 2010. Bharti had also demanded dowry. The woman’s family had to bear all the marriage expenses and he had also asked for a car.

“She said Bharti had lied to her. Before marriage, Bharti had said that he owned an international law firm but later she realised that he did not. She has also complained of physical and mental torture. After making the complaint, she is scared,” the DCW chief said. Singh said Lipika has been living in Dwarka separately for last three years and Bharti used to visit her.

On her part, Lipika said she has been going through difficult time since 2010.

“It would be difficult for me to summarise all these. It’s going on for a long time. It has been going on since 2010. I want separation, I want to be out from this marriage. I want to live with dignity with my children. It has been a continuous process through which I was going through,” she said.

Asked to comment, an AAP spokesperson called it a personal issue. Bharti was Law Minister during AAP’s first stint of 49 days. He had courted controversy for an alleged crackdown on a prostitution ring in his constituency during his ministership.