Shrikant Tyagi was yesterday arrested from an aide's home on the outskirts of Meerut.
Shrikant Tyagi, the Noida politician arrested after he was filmed verbally abusing and assaulting a woman, has said that the woman was "like his sister" and that he "realises his mistake".
"I regret the way I got carried away and used slangs. I should not have done that. She is like my sister. Women have a place of respect in the society. So definitely it is a mistake. I realise that and I am ready to apologise to her," he told TV9 Bharatvarsh in an interview after his arrest from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
"I got carried away and later realised that I should never use such language for anyone," he added.
Asked about the events that led to the altercation, he said that he had planted palm trees outside his ground floor flat. "The builder charged ground floor flat buyers 5 per cent extra as prime location charge. In return, you get a green area outside your flat. This is mentioned in the property registration papers. We planted palm trees there in 2019 and people started accusing us of encroachment," he said.
Asked about his alleged connection with Swami Prasad Maurya, who left the BJP and joined Samajwadi Party ahead of the 2022 Uttar Pradesh election, Tyagi said, "I never asked Mr Maurya for any help. He did not help me in any way."
Tyagi was on the run after a video of him verbally abusing a woman went viral. He was yesterday arrested from an aide's home on the outskirts of Meerut.
The Uttar Pradesh administration had cracked down hard against Tyagi after the video of him verbally abusing the woman at Noida's Grand Omaxe society went viral. A bulldozer razed allegedly illegal structures at Tyagi's residence. He has also been charged under the state's stringent Goonda Act.
Tyagi claimed to be a member of the BJP Kisan Morcha and his social media handles had several pictures of him posing with top BJP leaders, including party chief JP Nadda. The BJP has denied any association with him.
Residents of the society have accused him of threatening and intimidating them on several occasions.