New Delhi, Sept 28 (TIP): AAP Leader & Former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti turned himself in at the Dwarka North police station here tonight, hours after the Supreme Court rejected his plea for anticipatory bail in the Domestic Violence & Attempt to murder case alleged by his wife.

Bharti remained elusive and was untraceable since September 22 when the high court refused anticipatory bail in a case of attempted murder, assault, intimidation and attempted forced miscarriage filed by his estranged wife Lipika Mitra.

“I have come to surrender as per the court’s command. I was only exercising all my legal options and was waiting for the Supreme Court’s verdict,” said the AAP Leader to the media at the Dwarka Police station while flashing a copy of the Constitution. “Is it written anywhere in this book that says what I have done is wrong?” he added.

Denying the plea for anticipatory bail, Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy had ordered him to “surrender before appropriate jurisdiction of the police by this evening”.

Bharti’s father Sitaram, who belonged to Bihar’s Hisua, left the family when the AAP leader was very young. He and his two siblings were brought up by their mother Manorama. Bharti’s father is reportedly an ascetic.

After the Supreme Court hearing this morning, several Aam Aadmi Party leaders publicly chided Bharti for avoiding arrest. “After SC order Somnath should immediately surrender/cooperate in investigation. Party had requested him earlier and requesting him again,” party spokesman Ashutosh tweeted.

Delhi Commission of Women chairperson Swati Maliwal joined in: “Welcome move by SC. Somnath Bharti denied bail, reprimanded and told to surrender by evening. This bound to end his hide and seek with law.”

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted last week: “Somnath shud surrender. Why is he running away? Why is he so scared of gng to jail? Now he is becoming embarrassment for party n his family” (sic).

Troubles continue for Aam Aadmi Party : Bharti is the fourth party MLA to be arrested. Former law minister Jitender Tomar and MLAs Manoj Kumar and Surinder Singh are out on bail in forgery, land grab and assault cases respectively.