Assault case: BJP leader Sonali Phogat arrested,released on bail

BJP leader and TikTok star Sonali Phogat, who had allegedly thrashed a government official after accusing him of having made indecent remarks against her, was on Wednesday arrested and later granted bail by a court here.

She was arrested for allegedly beating Sultan Singh, secretary of the Hisar market committee, at Balsamand village on June 5, police said.

Police said she was produced before a court here which released her on bail.

Phogat had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls from Adampur in Hisar, a seat retained by senior Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, who is the younger son of former chief minister Bhajan Lal.

A video clip, purportedly showing the Hisar BJP leader beating the official with a slipper in full public view had gone viral on social media.

Singh later lodged a complaint with police against Phogat, denying making any indecent remarks against her and accused her of beating him up under a "misconception" that he had opposed her during the assembly elections.

After the incident, market committee employees across the state had protested, demanding that Phogat be arrested.

Binain Khap, one of the state's prominent khaps, had a few days ago given the state government a week's ultimatum to arrest Phogat.

Phogat had told mediapersons in Hisar earlier that she had gone to meet market committee officials to air some grievances of farmers.

She said when Singh was showing her a place in the Balsamand area of Hisar district where a shed for farmers was to come up, he began making "indecent and derogatory remarks against her".

She had claimed the official also made some comments against another woman official of the market committee and a woman minister of Haryana.

Police had lodged a case against Phogat under IPC Sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault ) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Police had also registered a case against Sultan Singh on the complaint of Sonali Phogat. He was booked under IPC sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (act with the intent to insult the modesty of a woman).