New Delhi, January 25
Law Minister Somnath Bharti, who has recently found himself in controversies, today said his intentions were good but he was projected in a "wrong way" and had he been "aware" of procedures, he could have avoided the wrangles.

"I am doing things for you (common man). I went on raid at late night, risking my life," he said, referring to the midnight incident at Khirki Extension here, in the function organised by the Saket Court Bar Association.

"I am not aware of procedures. If I would have known them, I would not have made these alleged mistakes," Bharti said while addressing lawyers on the eve of Republic Day at Saket District Courts premises.

Bharti, an Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Malviya Nagar, is facing cases and criticism from political opponents for a midnight raid against some African women in South Delhi, where, he had alleged, a drug and prostitution racket was taking place.

Criticising the Delhi police, he said, "This is the job of the police, but I went there. I am doing this because of concerns of people who have elected me as their representative. "Many took me wrong. My intentions were good, but it is projected in a wrong way," the minister added.

"I am new to this system, so I may commit mistakes, but someone should come forward and guide me. This system has been formed by common people, so I would try my best to give them a corruption-free system," he said.

The minister, whose ouster from the Arvind Kejriwal Cabinet is being demanded by political opponents, criticised media and said his opponents were using news reports to "project" him in a "wrong manner".

"Reporters present here will go and give their reports, but the persons sitting above are closely associated with other political parties and it is they who project me in a wrong manner," he said.

He accused the media of taking money from Narendra Modi and slammed the Delhi Commission for Women.

New Delhi, January 25
The Delhi police today informed a local court that it would not register a complaint filed by a second African woman, who alleged that she was molested at Khirki Extension by a mob allegedly led by Law Minister Somnath Bharti on January 15 night.

DCP (South) B.S. Jaiswal, in a written reply to Metropolitan Magistrate Chetna Singh today, said, "The petitioner has already been examined in the case. Her statement under Section 164 of the CrPc was recorded on January 21. Hence, no fresh FIR was registered as the matter pertains to the same incident in which the case has been registered."

The police told the court that on January 19, an FIR under Sections 153 A (Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting) of the IPC was registered at the Malviya Nagar Police Station.

After the first complainant, filed by a Ugandan woman on January 18.

Later in the week, another African woman had moved the court, seeking registration of a separate FIR against the same people.

Second complainant’s lawyer Rakesh Sherawat argued at the court for lodging a second FIR. "She is a victim of the incident, so a separate FIR should be lodged. Until the investigation is not done separately, how can it be established who molested her," he told the court.

The Magistrate has listed the matter for January 28.

New Delhi, January 25
Delhi Chief Election Officer (CEO) Vijay Dev was today conferred best electoral practices award by the Election Commission of India for introducing innovative measures during the assembly polls, which witnessed a record turnout of 65.13 per cent.

"This award is the result of hard work put in by the entire electoral machinery, right up to the booth-level officers," said Dev.

"I would like to congratulate the staff of 85,000 officers and more than 50,000 police staff who helped us conduct the elections in a fair and transparent manner," the Chief Electoral Officer, who is first ever Delhi CEO to bag the award, said on the occasion of National Voter's Day.

Dev said he will take steps for smooth conduct of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. "Significant steps like electoral arrangement and EVM security will be taken up for the Lok Sabha elections with youth, women and marginalised sections being the focus," he added.

In the assembly elections last year, the CEO had created 100 per cent photo electoral rolls with a four-time increase in the number of youths enrolled. Steps like setting up special camps in collaboration with the Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), NGOs and civil society organisations were taken to enrol more women voters leading to a significant increase in the sex ratio from 788 per 1,000 to 805.