New Delhi: The porch of a five-star hotel in Delhi was where the son of a politician from Uttar Pradesh pulled out his gun, abused and threatened a woman before driving away in his luxury sedan. The hotel staff, scared and baffled, didn't do anything to stop him.
The man, Ashish Pandey, is the son of Uttar Pradesh politician Rakesh Pandey, a former parliamentarian of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). His brother Ritesh Pandey is a BSP lawmaker from Jalalpur in Ambedkar Nagar in UP.
Lucknow-based Pandey has so far stayed away from politics and deals in real estate. He is known to visit Delhi frequently both for business and leisure. He was reportedly partying with his friends at the south Delhi hotel on Sunday when he got into an argument with a woman and her friend and waved his gun.
His father Rakesh Pandey also has a criminal record, the police say.
In a viral video of the incident, Pandey can be seen holding a gun as he argues with the woman. His woman friend and a security guard are seen trying to hold him back and calm him down. After shouting expletives and threats, he drives away with three women in his BMW, unchecked by the hotel staff.
The BSP distanced itself from Ashish Pandey. "Whoever he is, a proper investigation should be done and action should be taken. The incident doesn't have any connection with BSP. He is neither a leader nor a member of BSP," said the party's Sudhindra Bhadoria.
The Delhi police charged Pandey with the Arms Act but is yet to locate and arrest him.
A look-out circular, which alerts the police at borders, airports and railway stations about a wanted man, has been issued.
The woman at the receiving end of Pandey's threats and abuses told a news channel she was scared and so were the hotel staff. Former Congress lawmaker from Delhi's Model Town, Kanwar Karan Singh, whose son Gaurav was with the woman that evening, said this incident has come as a shock for their family.
The hotel staff filed a complaint today, only after footage of the incident was shown on TV channels.