Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has sought the Centre's nod for registering a criminal case against former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti in connection with the midnight raid against African women.
A probe report by retired Additional District Judge B L Garg had virtually given a clean chit to the Malviya Nagar police in the incident in Khirki Extension. The report was submitted to Jung in February.
According to sources in the Delhi Secretariat, the Lt Governor had forwarded the report to the state government's Home and Law and Justice departments seeking their views on it.
The Home department, which stated that a criminal case was made out against the former Law Minister, had sought the Law department's views on whether Bharti's name should be involved in the already registered case against unknown persons or a seperate case needed to be registered.
After the Home Department's report in this matter, the Lt Governor has sought the Centre's permission to register a case against Bharti.
The report by Garg indicated that the Police acted as per the law and that the Minister's supporters interfered in Police's duty.
The Lt Governor had ordered the probe into the incident which took place in January and involved Bharti leading a group of locals on a midnight raid against some Ugandan women in Khirki Extension of South Delhi.
Bharti had allegedly gone to the locality where he claimed that a drug and prostitution ring was being run by some African nationals.
Initially, he had demanded that police raid the place. However, when the they refused, saying they had no warrant to do so, he allegedly led the mob on the raid.
Delhi Police had registered a case in the matter on January 19 against unknown persons.
A Raj Niwas press release clarified that the matter related to Somnath Bharti's case has not been referred to the President and "news circulating regarding the same are not based on facts".
