NEW DELHI: A New Delhi court on Friday rejected the bail plea of Ashish Pandey, the son of a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP, following his arrest on charges of brandishing a gun at the entrance of a five-star hotel here and threatening a couple on October 14. The court has extended his judicial custody till Monday.
Ashish, a Lucknow-based realtor and son of former BSP MP Rakesh Pandey, surrendered before a Delhi court on Thursday. He had been on the run for two days after he was caught brandishing his weapon and threatening the couple on video outside the Hyatt Regency hotel in south Delhi. The Delhi Police, based on the video and the statement of the people he threatened, had booked him for assault and under various sections of the Arms Act. They had also issued a Look Out Circular (LOC) against him and contacted the Lucknow police for assistance.
In his application before the Metropolitan Magistrate, Pandey said he had been wrongly framed in the FIR and was being subjected to a media trial. He made similar claims in a video he released separately on Thursday morning.
“I am not denying that the incident occurred but only one side of the incident is portrayed. I request that CCTV footage from the hotel be checked to know who threatened whom,” he said, accusing his alleged victim Gaurav Singh.
“It was hanging behind me all the time. I didn’t even address that girl; she pushed me and made obscene hand gestures,” he added. In his statement to the police, Pandey claimed he was provoked by the couple.