Ashish Pandey, son of former Bahujan Samaj Party MP Rakesh Pandey who pulled out a gun and threatened fellow guests during a brawl at a five-star hotel in Delhi last weekend surrendered at the Patiala House Court on Thursday. The video of him brandishing a gun at Hyatt Regency hotel went viral on the social media.
Shortly before he went to the court, Pandey released a video in his defense wherein while not denying the incident, he said the matter was being presented in a very one-sided manner. “I’m being projected like I’m a wanted terrorist and police across the nation is looking for me. Look Out 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,” Ashish said.
“I took the gun with me for safety. I didn’t brandish it. It was hanging behind me all the time. I didn’t even address that girl, she pushed me and made obscene hand gestures. I’ve faith in judiciary and so I decided to surrender. There is no history of police case against me,” he claimed.
Earlier, Delhi’s Patiala House Court had issued a non-bailable warrant against Pandey for wielding a gun at other guests which also included Gaurav Singh, the son of ex-Congress MLA Kanwar Karan Singh. The court passed the order on the plea of Delhi Police which had registered an FIR on the complaint of the assistant security manager alleging that one person was flagging pistol in his hand in hotel premises.
—India Legal Bureau