Nainital ex-MLA attacked with chisel, 45-year-old held

NAINITAL: Former Nainital MLA Sanjeev Arya was attacked by a 45-year-old man with a chisel during an event in Nainital's Betalghat block on Thursday. While the attacker, Prem Prakash, was nabbed by the people present on the spot, Arya sustained a cut on his hand in the attack. The accused was handed over to police.The incident took place when Arya was in Java village of Betalghat block to attend an event organised to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar. According to SHO Satish Sharma, the attacker is suffering from mental illness. The officer added, “Prem Prakash is being interrogated but as per our preliminary investigation, it wasn't a political attack .” Meanwhile, Arya refused to submit a police complaint in the matter. Notably, former transport minister Yashpal Arya's son Sanjeev Arya had switched from BJP to Congress last year. However, he was defeated by BJP's Sarita Arya from his Nainital assembly seat in the recently-held elections.