MCG councillor Nisha Singh gets bail but no relief for others

GURGAON: Nisha Singh, the MCG councillor who was arrested for inciting mob violence at a HUDA demolition drive on May 15 and slapped with rioting and attempt to murder charges, got bail at the district court on Tuesday.
Additional chief judicial magistrate Kumud Gugnani granted Singh bail under Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows a woman to be granted bail even if the charges against her are non-bailable.
"This is a permanent bail and she will be out on bail till the final judgment is pronounced in this case by the sessions court. The matter will come up for hearing on May 29 in the local court," said her lawyer, Narender Jain.
But the 19 others arrested along with her - all villagers, nine of them women - for being involved in violence at Fatehpur Jharsa village in Sector 47 continue to languish in jail since no bail petition was moved for them.
Jain pleaded before the court that "she (Singh) went to the spot only to videograph the tussle between the residents and the police". "She did not instigate or abet the residents in violence, as has been alleged by the police. Police have falsely booked her under sections 307 and 353," he added. More than 20 people were injured as encroachers clashed with the police during the demolition drive and used LPG cylinders to trigger explosions. HUDA later said it had rightly taken up the drive to clear an area, measuring a little more than 17 acres since the high court had ordered it to build an approach road for a housing society there.
Singh, who said she was assaulted by the cops during the demolition drive, was initially admitted to Civil Hospital and then taken to Bhondsi jail on Saturday night.
After she was released on Tuesday evening, she went straight to a public gathering organized to garner support for her release by the civil society in Sector 47.
Singh iterated she was the victim of a brutal police attack and said her next step would be to get the FIR against her revoked.
"I had heard before that cops are brutal. Now, I have experienced it first hand. I was beaten brutally by lady cops and no information was provided. The charges pressed against me are so horrific that just to hear them makes me shudder. I was only recording the demolition drive and have not done anything wrong. When I entered politics, I knew it was going to be rough but I was not prepared for this sort of experience. By far, this has been the most challenging experience," said Singh, who looked relieved.
"I have learnt a lot from this ordeal. It has made me stronger and I am all the more determined to make sure that justice is meted out to those who need it. I will fight with renewed vigour to improve Gurgaon and clean politics," she added.