Bharti's dog didn't obey his command, notes court

Former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti's dog did not obey his command, a court here observed while granting him bail in a domestic violence case on Wednesday.

Additional Sessions Judge Anil Kumar observed that the dog named Don did not respond to Bharti's command while being examined by an expert.

"Perusal of case diary... dated September 30 shows that examination of dog (Don) by the board of doctors of Animal Husbandry Hospital was conducted and Bharti was directed to give commands to Don i.e. 'Don come', 'Don bark', 'Don bite', 'Don Kato', 'Don sit down' etc., but the dog did not respond to his command," the court observed.

Bharti's wife and complainant Lipika Mitra had claimed that the dog attacked her at his behest and that she received injuries on various parts of her body.

Bharti, who surrendered to police, was named in an FIR filed on September 10 following a June 10 complaint by Lipika, who said he had been abusing her since their marriage in 2010.

She claimed that he used to beat and torture her and once even tried to kill her.

Bharti, who was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) -- related to attempt to murder, cruelty towards wife, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon, criminal breach of trust, attempt to cause miscarriage without woman's consent, cheating and criminal intimidation -- was on the run soon after police registered an FIR against him.