SP, Cong slam BJP over politician assaulting Noida woman in viral video

Noida, Aug 05: After a BJP politician was booked in Noida for assaulting a woman on Friday, the Samajwadi Party slammed the ruling party over the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh while the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party demanded strict action against him.

BJP's Shrikant Tyagi has been booked under Indian Penal Code Section 354 (assault or use of criminal force on any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty) after a spat with a co-resident of his society in Noida's Sector 93B, according to police officials.

The spat took place over plantation of some trees by Tyagi outside his ground floor flat while the woman had objected to it, citing rules. Multiple videos of the episode surfaced on social media, with one purportedly showing Tyagi hurling expletives and assaulting the woman. He also used abusive words for her husband and made derogatory remarks about her.

After the videos of the incident went viral, BJP's Noida office-bearers claimed Tyagi is not a member of the party while he maintained that he was associated with it. "Yogiraj-BJP Govt 2.0. A woman was publicly abused and given death threats, abuses hurled at her by BJP leader Shrikant Tyagi. This is just an example of the atrocities being perpetrated on the public by the intoxicated BJP workers in Yogiraj. BJP leaders are even committing murders in Yogiraj!," the Samajwadi Party tweeted in Hindi.

Congress's former Noida MLA nominee Pankhuri Pathak said it was not the first time that such behaviour of BJP politicians against common people has come to light in the city. "If such hooliganism and misbehavior can take place with a woman inside a residential society, then it is clear that the people are not safe in Noida today," Pathak said, urging strictest action against Tyagi by the police and authorities.

Aam Aadmi Party's local leader Bhupendra Jadaun also demanded strict action against Tyagi over the incident. Meanwhile, BJP's Noida unit chief Manoj Gupta said Tyagi is not associated with the party. "He had come to the party some four-five years ago with Swamy Prasad Maurya, who has now left the BJP.

Tyagi was his disciple and not a member of the BJP," Gupta told PTI. He said the BJP stands in support of the society residents in the particular case and the common people in general, adding they also want action against Tyagi.

When contacted, Tyagi told PTI over phone that he is associated with the BJP and claimed that the woman had first instigated that spat by misbehaving with him. "She was drunk and started misbehaving with me and my family. After which I said a few things in rage. Her allegations that I have encroached society's common area is incorrect. I had paid extra money for the garden area when i bought the ground floor apartment," Tyagi said.