In a brazen display of money and power, the son of a former Bahujan Samaj Party MP was seen brandishing a pistol and threatening a couple on the porch of the Hyatt Regency hotel in RK Puram, Delhi, on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. His act went viral on social media after which a complaint was registered against him at the RK Puram police station on Tuesday.

The man brandishing the gun in the video was identified as Ashish Pandey, 38, the son of Rakesh Pandey, a former BSP MP from Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh.

After an FIR was registered by the assistant security manager of the hotel, the RK Puram police registered a criminal case against Pandey and has started searching for him. A Delhi police team went to Lucknow to arrest Pandey. However, he absconded before they arrived. Raids were carried out at two of Pandey’s flats: in Santushti Apartments located at Vivekanand Marg, and at his office at Gomti Nagar in Lucknow.

In the video—which was widely circulated on social media—Pandey was seen threatening a couple with a gun. Two or three women accompanying Pandey were also seen engaging in a heated argument with the couple.

According to the FIR filed by the assistant security manager, he received a call at about 3.40 am in the early hours of Sunday from a subordinate who told him that a male guest had entered the ladies’ washroom located near the P-level guest elevator area. (The Delhi police also said Pandey had entered the washroom.) When the complainant reached the spot with a female subordinate, he saw the accused and his friends (three women and two men) arguing with a couple. Later both the parties went to the porch area to receive their cars from the valet parking and began arguing again. While the argument was going on, the three women accompanying the accused climbed into the accused’s BMW car (UP-32JR0900). However, the argument between the accused and the couple continued, after which the accused came to his car and took out a pistol from it. He went to the couple with the pistol in his hand and threatened to kill them.

The video shows Pandey waving the pistol. The three women with him are seen hurling abuses at the couple and laughing at them. Pandey is seen saying, “Maa……d Lucknow se hoon , Maiyya………..  doonga.” The women say, “Go f…k your mom, f…k you bitch. Why don’t [you] f….ng learn anything, go quiet bitch, fu….ng transsexual mother f…er.”

One of the victims is the son of Kunwar Karan Singh, former Congress MLA from Model Town area in Delhi. When Newslaundry contacted him, Kunwar Karan Singh said, “This incident has disturbed our whole family. We are worried about our safety. We have given our statement to the police. It’s the job of the police to take care of a law and order situation. The police are doing their work. This incident has shaken us—as a father, you need to understand my situation.”

Newslaundry repeatedly tried to contact former BSP MP Rakesh Pandey, father of Ashish Pandey, but he didn’t respond to our calls. Newslaundry also tried to contact Ashish’s brother Ritesh Pandey, a BSP MLA from Jalalpur constituency of Ambedkar Nagar, but he was unavailable for comment.

Ajay Chaudhary, Special Joint Commissioner of Delhi Police, told Newslaundry the FIR was registered by hotel authorities two days after the incident. He said, “We have taken cognizance of the matter and will arrest the accused soon. We have also booked [him] under the relevant sections of the IPC and Arms Act.”

The Delhi police has issued a lookout circular notice to arrest Ashish Pandey. According to Anand Kumar, ADG (Law and Order), Uttar Pradesh Police, Pandey absconded from his apartment early on Tuesday morning and his wife also left at about 11 am. However, three teams of the Lucknow police, including a team of the Special Taskforce, have been formed to arrest him.

Hotel Hyatt Regency issued a statement, dated October 16, saying, “At Hyatt Regency and Hyatt Hotels and Resorts across the world, the safety and security of our guest is our primary concern … We take the incident that Hyatt Regency Delhi on [sic] seriously and have been working with the local police authorities on same.” When Newslaundry contacted Hyatt Regency, RK Puram, they refused to comment on the issue. The Delhi police sent Hyatt Regency a notice, asking why the hotel had not informed the police of the incident earlier.

It is significant to note that Rakesh Pandey, father of Ashish Pandey, himself has various serious offences booked against him in Lucknow and Akbarpur. He has been booked for offences such as murder, kidnapping, assault, wrongful restraint and criminal conspiracy.

Kiren Rijiju, minister of state for home, also tweeted about the incident: “Delhi Police has initiated action on this incident which is also being shown in the media. FIR has been registered under Arms Act and IPC. Strong and appropriate action will be taken. Also verifying the identity of others.”