‘Barun may have acted for party’

AAP’s spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon, TV personality Raghu Ram, among others during a protest outside Amboli police station against Barun Kashyap’s arrest on Wednesday

A day after arresting filmmaker Barun Kashyap for his suspected fake complaint in August against three men who purportedly threatened him for using a cowhide bag, the Amboli police revealed on Wednesday that they suspect Kashyap might have allegedly cooked up the incident at the behest of a “political group.”

On the day Kashyap lodged the police complaint, August 19, he had also put a post on social-media sites, accusing “self-proclaimed cow protectors in Mumbai” of threatening him about the bag. Kashyap, was on Wednesday remanded to police custody for three days by the Andheri Metropolitan Magistrate Court. The Amboli police, who sought his custody, stated in its remand application that they wanted to investigate why Kashyap had fabricated the incident. “We want to investigate why he lied to the police and made up the incident about three people harassing him and threatening him about his bag,” the police submitted in the remand application. The application further stated that they suspected “Kashyap was not acting alone”.

“We want to investigate whether he was acting at the behest of any political group or if he received any support from any group,” stated the application.

After the Amboli police booked Kashyap, events took a turn when on Tuesday when the Aam Aadmi Party’s spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon alleged that Daya Nayak, an assistant police inspector of the Amboli police, was harassing Kashyap and that the latter came to her to seek refuge. Kashyap had allegedly approached her on October 2, a day after the police booked him. “He had previously worked with Raghu Ram and narrated his ordeal to him. It was Raghu who suggested that he approach me and on Sunday he came to my house in Chembur,” Ms Menon told The Asian Age.

“On Tuesday, my driver and Kashyap left to meet senior police officers to tell them about Nayak’s actions. But midway, they were ambushed by Nayak, who arrested Kashyap. My driver then called me, following which I reached the police station to enquire,” said Ms Menon.

When asked why Kashyap did not approach the police station on Sunday itself, Ms Menon said they were in talks with their advocates to know about legal recourse available. Reacting to the suspicions of the police. Ms Menon said Kashyap had not been associated with AAP during the incident.

Vinay hiremath, legal counsel for Barun Kashyap, said that their first priority was to secure bail for Kashyap. “We are working towards the bail application,” he said.

Regarding the allegations that the police suspect political involvement behind Kashyap’s Facebook posts, Mr Hiremath said nothing of that nature was mentioned in the FIR.