Day after assault video surfaced, Uttarakhand minister booked; his security files counter FIR

In the video, now making rounds on social media, Aggarwal is seen having an argument with Negi, after which the minister slaps him. Another man, who apparently was with Negi tries to intervene, but Aggarwal’s security personnel slap them both. Soon, the matter gets out of control and the minister and others are seen delivering a flurry of blows to the man.

Talking to the media later in the day, the minister said that the man is a blackmailer who came close to his car on the road and started abusing him without provocation. He claimed that the man tore his kurta and attacked his security guard.

“I was going to attend an event. There was traffic and this person Surendra Singh Negi arrived. You all know him. He is a resident of Shivaji Nagar and calls himself a social worker, but people call him a blackmailer. As my car window was open, he started abusing me. My security personnel could not understand what was happening and asked what he was doing. He then tore my kurta with one hand. I lost everything I had in my pocket. When my security guard tried to calm him down, he tried to tore his uniform too,” said Aggarwal while talking to the media.

“The other person who was driving the motorcycle also tried to misbehave… I was attacked and am a victim of hooliganism. I am from this area and I know about him. Whenever something happens, he is active on social media. Some people have made this an occupation to blackmail,” said the minister.

Talking to The Indian Express, Rishikesh police station in-charge Khushi Ram Pandey said the first FIR is registered on the complaint of the minister’s security guard, against Negi and his associate Dharamveer Prajapati. The FIR is registered under sections 392 (robbery), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty, 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.

According to Pandey, the second FIR is registered on the complaint of Negi against the minister, his associate Kaushal Bijlwan, the minister’s gunner, and unidentified others, under sections 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the IPC.

In the complaint, Negi said he was riding pillion with his friend Dharamveer Prajapati and got stuck in a traffic jam near Bharadwaj Hospital.

“In the traffic, I was sitting pillion on a bike that was just around 2 metres from the vehicle of minister Premchand Aggarwal. My eyes went toward the car, and I started having a normal conversation with my friend. Aggarwal lowered the glass of the car window and asked me what I was saying. I replied that I was not saying anything about him. The minister got angry and said that I have given him a headache. I asked what have I done, but he opened the door of the car and hit me hard on my knee twice,”

“He abused me and said he will show me the government’s power. He said he will make me disappear so that even my family members will not be able to find me. After that the minister’s gunner and my companion tried to intervene… Kaushal Bijlwan also slapped me and abused me… the minister, his gunner and five-six other people dragged me on the road and beat me. They made me lie against a car, kicking and hitting me with stones on the road,” said Negi in the FIR.

He further said that in such a situation, a conspiracy can also be hatched by the minister or his colleagues and the BJP workers to kill him and his family members, and demanded police protection for his family.

The BJP strongly condemned the attack on Aggarwal and termed it unfortunate. Party state president Mahendra Bhatt said that strict action will be taken for the attack on the minister, as such incidents do not send a good message. Earlier in the day, residents in Rishikesh demonstrated at the Rishikesh Kotwali police station demanding action against the minister. The Congress party, meanwhile, condemned the incident and demanded the resignation of the minister. Congress state president Karan Mahara said that Aggarwal’s name had come up in the Assembly recruitment scam, and Tuesday’s incident of assault is highly condemnable.