Lipika Mitra has gone public about her allegedly abusive marriage to Somnath Bharti. She’s filed a 26-page long complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women and the AAP MLA is expected to appear before them on June 26.
While a lot is known about Bharti’s antics — his midnight raid on African women, indictment by a CBI court for trying to influence a prosecution witness, and bullying a 24/7 convenience store employee to down shutters — not much is known about Mitra.
Match Made on Shaadi.com
Lipika Mitra and Somnath Bharti met via shaadi.com. As per her complaint to the DCW, Somnath Bharti claimed to be the Managing Partner of a law firm that had operations in the US and UK at that time. She has also claimed that he agreed to marry her on the condition that she bore the cost of the marriage functions, and it was only during their honeymoon that he confessed that his “financial condition was not well and he was burdened with various debts”.
A Short, and Torturous Honeymoon
“He misbehaved with me several times during the honeymoon”, claims Mitra in her complaint. She says she was made to hand over her jewellery and wedding gifts to Bharti’s mother. Mitra never complained because she was already pregnant and needed her husband’s co-operation. Diabetic and hypertensive, Mitra claims that she was subjected to relentless mental, verbal and physical torture.
Slashed Wrists, Dog Bites, and Unpaid Hospital Bills
Lipika Mitra has further noted that her husband “forced her to undergo an abortion which led her to slash her wrists”. She claims Bharti unleashed dogs on her and refused to help her get medical treatment.
Somnath Bharti crossed all the barriers of brutality when he saw my condition after the dog bites and did not even bother to give me preliminary medical aid... I shifted to the house of my mother and informed him to vacate the rented accomodation along with the dog.
— Lipika Mitra
During her second pregnancy, according to Lipika, she had to first clear previous bills left unpaid by Bharti. The doctors who had dealt with Somnath Bharti earlier were unhappy, but owing to her complications, she promised the doctor that Bharti would not be involved, and that she would make the full payment in advance.
“For Mother and Motherland”
Somnath Bharti however gives a completely different account. He says he cannot fathom what prompted Lipika to file such a complaint, but he claims she wants him to abandon his mother.
In this old age, where do I send my mother? I have been in South India for party work. I love her, I love the children, but this demand I cannot meet. Where do I send my mother? She has no other place to go to.
— Somnath Bharti, AAP MLA
Ironically, Somnath Bharti claims that his wife wanted him to spend more time with the family and leave politics.
She has also demanded that I leave politics, because since I joined politics, I have had zero time for my family. I understand her pain, but this should have been sorted out sitting together, not by going public.
— Somnath Bharti, AAP MLA
Maa and Matrubhoomi are non-negotiable for Bharti.
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