Politician who abused, assaulted Noida woman arrested, sent to 14-day judicial custody

Absconding politician Shrikant Tyagi was arrested on Tuesday from Meerut and sent to 14-day judicial custody, officials said, days after he was seen in a video abusing and assaulting a woman for objecting to his alleged illegal constructions at a housing society.

Three aides of Tyagi (34) were also arrested who provided support to him since he fled Noida Friday evening after the incident, and local police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 on his arrest.

Additional Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar on the controversy surrounding security given to Tyagi by police said he had no such protection after February 2020.

In a press conference in Noida Tuesday evening, Police Commissioner Alok Singh said Tyagi along with his three associates was held around 10.30 am from Meerut bypass over an information about his possible movement to Gautam Buddh Nagar to surrender in the local court.

"Police had taken cognizance of the episode after the video surfaced on social media and has been pro-active in it. After an FIR was lodged in the case, a manhunt was launched to nab the accused," Singh said, stressing that the police have zero tolerance for crimes against women and children.

He said while escaping Tyagi first went to the airport in Delhi but by that time his video had gone viral and accordingly he changed his course of action.

After that he went to Meerut, Muzaffarnar and then to Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand over the next two days as he kept changing his locations, cars and devices, including mobile phones, to evade being tracked.

"Initially eight police teams were formed to nab Tyagi under the supervision of the nodal officer (woman safety) Additional DCP (Ankita Sharma) but later four more teams added to accomplish the task," Singh said.

"He even went outside UP borders to escape but our teams used human intelligence, technical intelligence to track him," the officer said.

"The main accused cleverly kept hiding and from time to time maintained radio silence, electronic silence in order to escape being tracked. But the police continued its efforts and the Noida police today arrested him from Meerut along with other support teams," he added.

The commissioner said five cars belonging to Tyagi and his wife have been impounded.

One of the cars even had a sticker which is given to MLAs of UP and had the symbol of the state government, all being illegally used by him.

"He also had a sticker on one of his vehicles which is given to honourable MLAs. Tyagi told police during questioning that this sticker was provided to him by his associate Swami Prasad Maurya," Singh said.

Maurya, who was a minister in the previous BJP government in the state, had quit the party just ahead of the Assembly earlier this year and joined the Samajwadi Party. Currently, he is a member of the state legislative council from the Samajwadi Party.

On Tuesday evening, Tyagi was produced before remand magistrate Pradeep Kushwaha as the local court in Surajpur was closed on occasion of Muharram, according to a police official.

The remand magistrate sent him to 14-day judicial custody, the official added.

The official said police did not apply for the custody of Tyagi, who has been booked under the stringent Gangsters Act, among several other charges including assault, criminal intimidation and cheating.

Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) Love Kumar said Tyagi expressed remorse over the episode and admitted that his behaviour towards women was not good.

The other three accused have been identified as Rahul, who hails from Hapur, Nakul Tyagi from Baghpat, and Sanjay, a native of Firozabad.

Meanwhile, the DGP UP police announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh and the additional chief secretary (home) announced a reward of Rs 2 lakh for the Noida police team involved in the case.

Before the arrest, Tyagi's wife was once again detained for questioning, according to officials.

Tyagi, who was at large since Friday evening, had Monday moved a court in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district with a plea for surrender-related procedures. The hearing in the matter has been listed for August 10.

He moved the court plea soon after the Noida police declared him "absconding" and announced the reward on his arrest.

Until he went underground Friday night, Tyagi claimed to be the national executive member of the BJP's Kisan Morcha and the national co-coordinator of its Yuva Samiti, even as the ruling party denied any links with him.

The Opposition has also mounted an attack on the BJP over the issue, sharing purported pictures of Tyagi with senior saffron party leaders, including its national president J P Nadda.

Meanwhile, police personnel remained deployed at the Grand Omaxe society in Sector 93B where Tyagi had allegedly abused and assaulted the woman.

"We have got to know through media that Shrikant Tyagi has been arrested. His arrest was our main demand since the incident," a member of the society residents. association told PTI.

Tyagi had allegedly hurled expletives and assaulted the woman co-resident of Grand Omaxe who had objected to him planting trees in the common area of society in Noida Sector 93B last Friday. Tyagi had claimed he was well within his rights to do so.

During the probe, police also impounded two vehicles of Tyagi which were found in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act. One of his SUVs, the officials said, had a symbol of the Uttar Pradesh government on it but it was unauthorised.