14-day judicial custody for sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar

A court on Friday sent sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, arrested on charges of rape on a complaint by a woman who figured in a video with him, to 14 days judicial custody.

Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary remanded Kumar in judicial custody till September 23 after he was presented before her on expiry of his police custody.

The police told court that the accused was not required for further custodial interrogation.

Meanwhile Kumar's defence counsel Pradeep Rana moved an application seeking special armed guards and separate cell during judicial custody stating that Kumar was previously a practicing advocate and subsequently elected as a member of Delhi Legislative Assembly.

The court directed jail authorities to consider Kumar's application as per Delhi Jail manual.

The former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Minister in Delhi government was arrested on September 3 after a woman approached Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi with a complaint of sexual harassment against him.

He was booked under sections 376 (punishment for rape) and 328 (causing hurt by means of poison, with intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He was also charged under the Information Technology Act's section 67A (punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form).

The woman had alleged in her complaint that she was sexually harassed by Kumar at his office-cum-residence in the Sultanpuri area of the capital where she had gone to get her ration card made.

She had also alleged that Kumar had offered her a spiked cold drink following which she could not recall what exactly happened with her and how she had acted.

A Delhi Police team on Sunday visited the same house where the woman had alleged she was raped.

Kumar was sacked after an alleged "sex video" involving him became viral.

He later defended himself, saying he had resigned on his own and alleged that he had been targeted because he was a Dalit.

--IANS

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