The wife of Shrikant Tyagi, who was arrested earlier today for allegedly abusing and assaulting a woman in Noida, said that apologies should have been given on immediate basis and that everything that followed after the incident was being exaggerated.
Anu Tyagi also acknowledged that whatever happened was wrong.
"What happened was wrong, he should've apologized. The topic was that he insulted a woman. It should have been handled like that. But everything is now being dragged. Our car, trees, house, everything has suddenly become illegal," Anu Tyagi, wife of Shrikant Tyagi told ANI.
She further stressed that they were just planting trees.
"We were just planting trees. My husband was provoked. He should have said sorry and apologised. My children and I are being treated very badly by everyone around us," she added.
Her remarks came after Uttar Pradesh Police arrested Shrikant Tyagi on Tuesday, who was recently seen in a viral video assaulting and abusing a woman at Grand Omaxe in Noida's Sector 93 and was on the run ever since.
He was arrested by police near Meerut.
Mr Tyagi, who claims to be a member of Bharatiya Janata Party's Kishan Morcha, has been accused of allegedly abusing and pushing a woman who is a resident of Grand Omaxe society in Noida's Sector 93B, during an argument. The BJP has denied any association with him.
Noida Police had said that IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) have been added to the FIR registered on Friday.
Earlier, speaking to media persons while being taken from the court, Mr Tyagi said the woman whom he assaulted was like his sister and claimed that the incident was political, adding that it was done to politically decimate him.
"I express my regret on the incident. She is like my sister, the incident is political and was done to politically decimate me," said Mr Tyagi while being taken from the court.
Earlier, the Noida Police said that Mr Tyagi was using an MLA sticker on his car which was allegedly given by Uttar Pradesh MLC Swami Prasad Maurya who revealed this during police interrogation as the matter is being probed.
Noida Police Commissioner Alok Singh shared the information on Tuesday evening.
Mr Tyagi initially wanted to go to Lucknow. Till now, was not disclosed that he was in touch with a politician, the police said.
Commissioner of Police Alok Singh said Mr Tyagi was arrested near Meerut. His three associates also have been arrested. These accused persons have been arrested in connection with a case related to the Omaxe Society of Sector 93 of Noida.
Noida Police have lodged a case of outraging the modesty of a woman against Tyagi and others.
CP Alok Singh said that the video of the said incident of August 5, 2022, came to light through the social media monitoring team. However, the matter was not reported to the police by the victim. The victim was contacted by the police. Then a case was lodged and a search for the accused was started.
Initially, eight teams were constituted to apprehend Shrikant Tyagi. But he could not be traced as he was changing his locations and mobile devices.
A massive team effort was launched. The number of teams was increased to 12. He was continuously being chased, the police said.
Mr Tyagi was constantly changing his locations and mobile devices. He went to Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Haridwar and Rishikesh.
After a massive search operation, Mr Tyagi was arrested along with the people harbouring him during these 3-4 days.
While talking about the reason behind the dispute, the Commissioner of Police said that the dispute was related to the use of the common area in society, which started three years back in 2019.
"There is a zero-tolerance policy against crime against women and children," the top cop said.
"Tyagi had first tried to go to the airport but by the time the video was viral. Then he went to Meerut. He spent the night changing his device," he added.
"Then he went to Haridwar and Rishikesh. After spending some time there, he again entered UP. Then again he changed his device," he stated.
CP Alok Singh also said that Shrikant Tyagi was using a VIP number series 001 of Lucknow transport authority. These numbers were acquired through bidding of not less than Rs 1 lakh each.
Police have recovered five vehicles used by Shrikant Tyagi including two Fortuners, two Safaris and one Honda Civic.
The police said that his driver got a painted state emblem on the number plate of his car to show influence.
The CP said," We are invoking the Gangster Act against Tyagi."
