A man who loves flaunting weapons
He has an obsession with guns and likes to pose with them. He doesn’t need a licence to pose with others’ weapons. The gun he was carrying was for his safety. RINKU UPADHYAY, a “close friend” of Ashish and his MLA brother Ritesh
NEW DELHI/LUCKNOW: Soon after a video of him brandishing a pistol at a five-star hotel in Delhi went viral on Tuesday, Ashish Pandey hurriedly took down his Facebook account that had enough photographs to suggest that he loved flaunting weapons.
There were photographs of him posing with a rifles, pistols, cartridges, daggers and Swiss knives. The Uttar Pradesh police said Ashish has a gun licence for the last 18 years, but are unsure if it is the same weapon he was seen waving in the video.
Rinku Upadhyay, who claimed to be a “close friend” of Ashish and his MLA brother Ritesh, said one should not read too much into the photographs on Facebook. “He has an obsession with guns and likes to pose with them. He doesn’t need a licence to pose with others’ weapons. The pistol he was carrying was for his safety,” said Upadhyay. He was answering calls made to Ritesh’s phone.
Ashish comes from a family of politicians which is widely believed to have clout in central UP’S Ambedkar Nagar. His father Rakesh Pandey won 2009 Lok Sabha election on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ticket from Ambed- kar Nagar constituency. In the affidavit, Pandey mentioned he has three criminal cases against him in Lucknow, Faizabad and Ambedkar Nagar districts. In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, he lost the seat. Rakesh’s affidavit shows he was booked for offences such as murder, kidnapping for ransom, criminal conspiracy and wrongful restraint.
Pawan Pandey, who is Ashish’s uncle, is an accused in the Babri mosque demolition case and has 32 criminal cases against him. Another uncle Krishna Kumar Pandey has half a dozen criminal cases.
In 2017, Ashish’s brother Ritesh secured victory from Jalalpur assembly seat, which is considered the family bastion in Ambedkar Nagar. The Pandey brothers were largely credited for the party’s success in the region.
The BSP, meanwhile, on Tuesday distanced itself from Sunday night’s events and said Ashish was not a member of the party. “The police should probe the case and appropriate legal action should be taken against him,” a senior party leader said.
Another BSP leader said Ashish’s antics could spell trouble for his father and uncles who have been aspiring for a BSP ticket in the 2019 polls. The party leadership cannot ignore the public outrage, the BSP leader said.
Leader of the BSP legislature party, Lalji Verma and national general secretary Ramachal Rajbhar who secured victory in 2017 election from assembly seats in Ambedkar Nagar district could not be contacted. HT tried to con- tact Rakesh Pandey as well but there was no response.
“Ashish is educated in Australia and keeps away from politics. He has never even indulged in a street fight and has never been picked up by the police,” said Upadhyay, who claimed to handle Ritesh’s political affairs.
Upadhyay defended Sunday night’s event by saying it was a “non-issue”. “Does the video show him pointing his pistol at anyone? He was simply carrying the weapon at the time of the confrontation,” said Upadhyay.
The BMW Ashish was driving registered in his name, said Devender Arya, deputy commissioner of police (south-west). He had left for Lucknow immediately after the altercation.