Lawyer Vikram Singh Chauhan arrested for Patiala House assault; freed on bail

Vikram Singh Chauhan, the face of two brazen attacks on journalists and Jawaharlal Nehru University students and teachers at the Patiala court complex in New Delhi last week, was arrested on Wednesday in connection with the assaults.

He was, however, freed on bail later in the evening, a senior police official said.

Chauhan was booked on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and causing hurt pertaining to two separate cases.

"While one case against Chauhan pertains to the February 15 incident, the other relates to the violence on February 17," the official said.

Chauhan was caught on camera leading a group of lawyers in mounting the assaults on two occasions -- February 15 and 17 -- at the Patiala House court complex, triggering widespread outrage.

The lawyer appeared before the police, six days after he was served summons in connection with the violence in the court complex. There have been angry protests over alleged police inaction against the lawyer though he was the most prominent among the lawyers involved in unleashing violence at the court complex on two occasions.

On Monday, a news channel had aired a sting operation in which the lawyer was seen boasting about beating arrested JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, charged with  sedition, when he was brought to the court on February 17.

In the video, he was purportedly heard saying "we bashed him (Kumar) for three hours. He wet his pants. We beat him up so much."

Before presenting himself to police, Chauhan on Wednesday said "none of the charges against me has been proved. A few channels are projecting me as a goon. I did not beat the reporters. Others did."

Groups of lawyers, led by Chauhan, had thrashed journalists and JNU students and teachers on February 15 and repeated their act on February 17 against Kumar and some media persons, in open defiance of the Supreme Court instructions.

Yashpal Singh, one of Chauhan's colleagues who was also caught on camera thrashing journalists and JNU teachers and students, was arrested on Tuesday night and released on bail immediately.