'Why Didn't You Arrest Him on First Day': Judge on Somnath Bharti

New Delhi: A secret recording of a vicious fight with his wife will prove that he is being wrongly accused of domestic abuse and attempt to murder, politician Somnath Bharti told NDTV. However, the audio tapes prove the opposite, said the Delhi Police in court today.

Mr Bharti, 41, is a lawmaker from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP); in an earlier stint as Delhi's Law Minister, he led a much-criticized midnight raid on African women, accusing them of prostitution and drug dealing.

That episode shows his "attitude towards women", the police said in the Delhi High Court today, arguing that it should be allowed to arrest Mr Bharti. The court said that's not possible till it decides on Mr Bharti's request for anticipatory bail. "Why did you not arrest him on the first day when he was not protected by any court? Do you always serve notice to people in attempt to murder cases?" the judge said, clearly displeased.

Mr Bharti married Lipika Mitra in 2010. The police said that in May early inquiries reveal a history of domestic violence -  that in May, he attacked Ms Mitra with a kitchen knife while their two children watched; last year, he  burnt her arm by placing it against a hot pressure cooker; that in 2013, he tried to strangle her while his dog, Don, simultaneously attacked her.

Mr Bharti told NDTV last night a lawyer's instinct impelled him to record that fight, and that the tapes, which he has shared in court, prove that his wife refused his request to visit a hospital after the alleged assault by Don. This, he said, establishes that his dog did not maul Ms Mitra.

Contesting Mr Bharti's claim that Don, a 12-year-old Labrador, would not turn on a family member, the police said that because the pet was kept either at Mr Bharti's office or boarded at a kennel, he was unfamiliar with Ms Mitra.