Fresh trouble for AAP: Another MLA faces charges of molestation

There seems to be no respite for the Aam Aadmi Party. Days after AAP leader Dinesh Mohaniya was arrested for misbehaving with a woman, another AAP leader on Friday was slammed with charges of molestation and assault. [caption id=“attachment_2881144” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prakash Jarwal. Image courtsey: Twitter. @prakash_jarwal[/caption] In early June AAP MLA from Deoli in South Delhi, Prakash Jarwal, was accused of molesting and assaulting a woman, after the victim filed an FIR at the Greater Kailash police station reports India Today. However, Jarwal said he was innocent and claims that the allegations against him are politically motivated, as reported by The Hindu. He accused the woman of having close ties with the BJP. The incident allegedly took place at the Delhi Jal board office. The victim alleged that Jarwal’s men abused her for her persistent complaints about water scarcity, after which the MLA arrived, and proceeded to abuse her and push her. The MLA on the other hand dismissed the victim’s allegations. According to reports, he went on to claim that the victim was not present in his office on the day of the alleged incident. She only arrived in his office on 3 June, and not a day earlier. Providing an alibi for his whereabouts on the day of the alleged incident, he said “The DJB office was being inaugurated that day. There were scores of people there, including people from the TV media. The woman requested me for water tankers and I told her I would try my best. Then I left in my car. Had the alleged incident taken place, the media would have definitely captured it.” The MLA maintains that he heard the woman’s plea and told her that he would try his best, after which he left in his car. A twitter account in Prakash Jarwal’s name, though un-verified, stated that the molestation charges were ‘baseless’.

Molestation of women against me is baseless ,
It's all about dirty political game..

— Prakash Jarwal (@Prakashjarwal) July 8, 2016

Jarwal was earlier arrested in May 2014, for allegedly thrashing a junior Delhi Jal Board engineer, reports The Indian Express. As AAP finds itself in the eye of the storm, the party deems the string of attacks against them as BJP’s doing.