The case against Aam Aadmi Party MLA Somnath Bharti got murkier as his estranged wife Lipika Mitra, on Monday, bared all details of alleged domestic violence at the hands of her husband.
Addressing the press from the residence of Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Barkha Singh Shukla, Mitra said that she was speaking up because Bharti called her complaints "baseless" and claimed that they had not been together for years.
"This is what I have reduced to," said Mitra, visibly full of nervous energy, "I have to prove my relationship with my husband of five years." Going into the ugly details of abuse, she broke down several times, even as Barkha Singh tried to console her.
Bharti and Mitra married late 2010, and, Mitra said on Monday that his claims of being separated completely hurt her so much that she and Singh felt it was time for her to put forward her story.
Saying that at this juncture she wanted all action taken against Bharti, even if that included an FIR against him. "Earlier, I wanted the easy way out. I thought I'd get a divorce in court, and justice in due time."
When asked about her expectations of AAP chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Mitra said, "After Kejriwal congratulated the woman who stood up to the traffic policeman who threatened her, I expected a fair hearing from him.
What am I asking for except freedom from an abusive marriage?"
Mitra recounted that the last instance of abuse was on May 28 when, she claimed, Bharti beat her almost senseless in front of their two children -- a four-year-old girl and a two- year-old boy. "He left me to die in front of my children," said Mitra. "He went off to Kerala and didn't even inquire about us. My daughter has nightmares and trouble sleeping. She told me to not let daddy into the house."
This, Mitra said, was what prompted her to complain to the DCW on June 10.
It was only then, as the complaint immediately made news, she added that Bharti contacted her. Showing reporters an SMS exchange between them, she said that Bharti asked her if she had complained to the National Women's Commission and if she was "mad". He further asked her if she was working for the BJP or had been instigated by the police.
"Then 'I love yous' started. He started showing concern for children," said Mitra. She said that Bharti's lack of care for the children is why she wants full custody.
She also added that children were the reason she had stayed with Bharti so far, hoping he would be a good father to them.
"I have documented evidence of the abuse, emails written between us, photographs of bite marks that I have kept," said Mitra to the media. "If you give me some time I will show all of it to you."
Mitra shared some emails from the previous five years. One, dated March 2013, asked Bharti to move out of the house she was paying for. She wrote that she could not take the responsibility of paying for him and being physically abused by him, especially when she was pregnant. A second letter from the same month describes the injuries from the dog that Bharti allegedly set on her when she was 7 months pregnant.
In an earlier letter from July 2011 she has called for an end to their relationship, saying that he made her life miserable. She also refuted all claims of troubling her mother-in- law or asking Bharti to chose between them, as he had claimed.
The press conference ended up with additional drama when Bharti's mother and her lawyer tried to enter Singh's residence but were denied permission. Bharti's mother broke down talking to reporters saying that she would live in an old age home so that her son and daughter-in-law could resolve their differences.
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