File photo of AAP MLA Somnath Bharti
An arrest warrant has been issued for Somnath Bharti, the Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Law Minister of Delhi. Mr Bharti, 41, has been accused by his estranged wife Lipika Mitra of domestic violence and attempt to murder.
Since the case was filed late last week, Mr Bharti has ignored multiple requests by the police to make himself available for interrogation.
The police says that the former minister did not keep a Friday appointment, and has gone missing since then. On Thursday, Mr Bharti tweeted, "This too shall pass". Nothing after that on his account.
A Delhi judge today refused his request for anticipatory bail, which would have ensured he could not be arrested till a date decided by the court.
The judge said "as per the complainant, on March 19, 2013, when she (Lipika) asked Bharti to pay the rent, he not only tried to strangulate her, but also unleashed his dog on her despite knowing that she was in the seventh month of pregnancy."
Mr Bharti's lawyers argued that as a state legislator, he will not disappear if he is allowed bail.
"I (Bharti) am a lawyer, ex-Delhi law minister and a public servant and there is no chance that I will abscond," his lawyer said.
Mr Bharti was not included in Arvind Kejriwal's government after the Aam Aadmi Party took office in February. In its first, snappy, 49-day term, Mr Bharti was excoriated for leading a mob that illegally detained and harassed African women alleging they were part of a prostitution and drug racket.