National Conference leader and formerMLA Gagan Bhagat was arrested Thursday for allegedly abusing and thrashing awoman sarpanch in the border belt of R S Pura in Jammu district, officialssaid.
The alleged incident of thrashing was reported in the area onSaturday but the video, purportedly showing the NC leader attacking sarpanchSeema Devi and her supporters, went viral on the social media Wednesday,prompting police to register a case.
“He was arrested around 2 pm in R S Pura belt inconnection with a case of thrashing (of woman sarpanch and hersupporters)”, SDPO R S Pura, Sahil Prashur, told PTI.
He said the case is beinginvestigated.
The video purportedly showed Bhagat thrashing Devi and hersupporters in R S Pura over the issue of taking credit for installing powertransformer in Raipur Sajda village in the constituency.
In the video, Bhagat is seen questioning the credentials ofan elected sarpanch of the area for installation of the transformer in the areaand entering into verbal brawl and assault.
An FIR was registered against him.
Bhagatwanted to rule the areas by using “muscle power”, Devi told reportershere.
The sarpanchs and panchs of All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference(AJKPC) led by its president Anil Sharma held protests in R S Pura in supportof the action against the NC leader.
After being expelled from the BJP recently for his”anti-party” activities, former MLA from RS Pura, Bhagat, joined theNC in presence of the party president Farooq Abdullah in December last year.Goingagainst the party line, the MLA had on December 3 moved the Supreme Courtchallenging the dissolution of state Assembly by Governor Satya Pal Malikcalling it “unconstitutional and undemocratic”.