Ex-BSP MP's son Ashish Pandey threatens couple with pistol outside five-star hotel in Delhi, booked under Arms Act

The Delhi Police has registered a complaint against a former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP’s son, Ashish Pandey, after a video of him brandishing a pistol at a five-star hotel in the city was widely shared on social media. The incident took place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at RK Puram late on Saturday. The Delhi Police said an FIR has been registered under the Arms Act and sections of the IPC, including those related to causing hurt (323), criminal intimidation (506) and using force with the intent to outrage the modesty of a woman (354). Initially the case was registered under the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) were added later, police said, adding that they have also reached out to their Uttar Pradesh counterparts. A senior officer of Uttar Pradesh Police said that they have initiated a probe in the matter. The officer further added that the Uttar Pradesh Police will assist the Delhi Police team which arrived in Lucknow to locate Ashish Pandey, reported NDTV. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs of India, Kiren Rijiju had reacted to the news on Twitter and said “strong and appropriate action will be taken.” The minister also added that an FIR has been registered under Arms Act and IPC by the Delhi Police and that verification of identities of others involved was being undertaken. The accused was identified as Ashish Pandey, son of former BSP MP Rakesh Pandey, reported ANI. Ashish Pandey is the brother of Ritesh Pandey, the BSP MLA from Jalalpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Ambedkar Nagar, reported CNN-News18. The video, obtained by Firstpost, shows Ashish Pandey with a gun at the entrance of the hotel in South Delhi. He appears to be threatening and hurling abuses at a man and woman, even as the hotel staff at the foyer try to calm him down.  A woman joins the accused in intimidating the couple. The video appears to have been shot on a mobile phone by someone accompanying Ashish Pandey in his car.

Ashish Pandey, who was booked under the Arms Act, is absconding. The police have launched a search for him. The complaint about the incident was received on Monday from the assistant security manager of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in RK Puram, following which a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued, police said. The hotel issued a statement saying they were taking the incident seriously and the safety and security of guests is a primary concern, ANI reported.

Ex-Congress MLA Kanwar Karan Singh said his son, who was shown a gun by Ashish Pandey, was in “trauma” after the incident and that was the reason why he did not inform the police. Singh said they have recorded their statement with the police and have full faith in the law of the land. “We have given our version to police and submitted our written statement. We were in trauma after the incident. My son was shown a gun and he was in fear and that is why we did not lodge a complaint before,” he told PTI. The former Congress MLA said he did not believe in violence. “My son was numb with fear after he was shown a gun. We do not believe in violence and stay away form indulging in fights. Police have started their investigation and we believe in them,” he said. With inputs from agencies