NEW DELHI, Jan 23: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Somnath Bharti was granted bail on Saturday after he was convicted on Friday by a Delhi court of assault on AIIMS security guards in an old case filed in 2016, and sentenced to two years in jail. Four other accused were acquitted.

He was accused of assaulting the security staff and demolishing a wall of the AIIMS.

On September 9, 2016, AIIMS chief security officer RS Rawat lodged the complaint with the Delhi police accusing Bharti and 300 supporters of misbehaving with security guards of the AIIMS. According to the complaint, he "provoked the mob to damage the fence of Government property (AIIMS)". Bharti also led unauthorised persons with JCB machines to get inside AIIMS from Gautam Nagar Nallah road side, the complaint said.

The court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey stated: "Court is of the considered view that prosecution has duly proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt against accused Som Nath Bharti regarding charges of an offence punishable under section 323/353 read with Section 149 IPC and charge of an offence punishable under section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and charge of an offence punishable under section 147 IPC read with Section 149 IPC and he is held guilty and convicted for the same."

Earlier last week, the AAP leader was arrested in Rae Bareli district over an alleged derogatory remark he made two days earlier while in Amethi district on the state of hospitals in Uttar Pradesh. He was charged with criminal intimidation of public servants, promoting enmity between groups and derogatory remarks on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

"You get ink thrown, you get goons to attack me, you get false cases filed, you get pressure put on courts and get me sent to jail. Yogi ji, we will fight," Bharti had tweeted.