A court here today rejected the anticipatory bail plea of rebel Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nalin Kotadiya, against whom a police complaint was lodged by a city-based builder for allegedly demanding extortion money.
Additional Sessions Judge of Ahmedabad rural D P Gohil dismissed the anticipatory bail plea on the ground that allegations against him were serious in nature and the matter was under investigation.
Another judge, P A Patel, had earlier recused himself from hearing Kotadiya's plea, after which the matter was transferred to Gohil.
Also Read
Kotadiya, a sitting MLA from Dhari in Amreli district, had filed the anticipatory bail application after Madhu Vasani lodged the complaint against him at Vastrapur police station.
Vasani alleged that Kotadiya came to his office on July 26 and demanded Rs 2 crore for having secured from authorities the construction permission on a piece of land for his real estate firm.
As per the FIR, when Vasani refused to pay the money, Kotadiya and his accomplice thrashed him and looted a gold chain and a pendant worth Rs 60,000.
Kotadiya, who has been shunned from the BJP for his support to the Patidar reservation agitation in the state and who was recently seen with Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal during his visit to Somnath, has termed the FIR against him a conspiracy to keep him away from the stir.
Kotadiya had won on the ticket of Gujarat Parivartan Party, floated by former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel, which merged with BJP two years ago.
BJP has now disowned him following his inflammatory comments about the party and its leaders especially in connection with the Patidar reservation agitation.
Bhardwaj was arrested by a police team from Sonipat on
July 26. He was questioned for several hours in connection with the suicide of the woman, along with Chauhan.
The woman had consumed a poisonous substance at her home in north-west Delhi's Narela area and died during treatment at LNJP Hospital on July 19.
She had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj for allegedly touching her inappropriately and a case of molestation was registered in June. The accused was arrested and later released on bail.
On July 20, Delhi Police had registered a case of abetment to suicide and handed over the entire matter to a special investigation team.
The family members of the woman had claimed that she had gone into depression after her alleged molester Bhardwaj, an AAP colleague, was released on bail.
She had also alleged that the accused was being protected by the local AAP MLA.
The woman in a video recording had levelled serious allegations against Bhardwaj, accusing him of pressuring her to "compromise" if she wanted to rise in the party and claimed himself to be "close" to the local party MLA.
