Delhi hotel brawl: Court grants police one-day custody of BSP leader’s son
Ashish Pandey surrendered in the court on Thursday and claimed he was being projected like a terrorist.
Ashish Pandey, who was seen threatening a couple with a gun outside a hotel in Delhi earlier this week, surrendered in the Patiala House Court on Thursday morning, ANI reported. The court sent him to one day of police custody. Pandey is the son of former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rakesh Pandey.
The Delhi Police had asked the court to grant them custody of Pandey for four days, PTI reported. “We need the custodial remand as the accused needs to be taken Lucknow as well,” the public prosecutor told the court. “We have to recover the weapon also.”
Pandey’s counsel said the defence had submitted the pistol’s licence in court.
The Patiala House Court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Pandey on Wednesday, a day after the Delhi Police registered a case under various sections of the Arms Act against him, A video of the incident that went viral on social media showed Pandey hurling abuses at a couple and brandishing a gun at them over a parking dispute at Hyatt Regency Delhi. The man was joined by a woman, while another woman filmed the incident from inside a car.
“I’m being projected like I’m a wanted terrorist and police across the nation is looking for me,” Pandey told ANI. “A lookout circular has been issued against me. If you check CCTV footage, you’ll find who went to ladies’ toilet that night and who threatened whom.”
Pandey also claimed that he had the gun for safety. “I didn’t brandish it,” he said. “It was hanging behind me all the time. I didn’t even address that girl, she pushed me and made obscene hand gestures. I have faith in judiciary and so I decided to surrender. There is no history of police case against me.”
Pandey’s brother Ritesh Pandey is an MLA from Jalalpur in Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.
The police have also issued a show-cause notice to Hyatt Regency, giving the hotel 15 days to explain why it did not inform authorities on October 14, the day of the incident.
The police accused the hotel authorities of a “serious lapse”. “You have not only withheld information relating to a cognisable offence but also have in a way assisted the escape of the accused person,” said the notice.