New Delhi: In a stern message to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said the legislator, who is on the run in a domestic violence case filed by his wife, is becoming an embarrassment to the party and he should surrender and cooperate with the police.

Breaking his silence on the row involving his former ministerial colleague, the AAP chief questioned Bharti’s act of going into hiding and asked why he was running away from the police and scared of going to jail.

“Somnath should surrender. Why is he running away? Why is he so scared of going to jail? Now he is becoming embarrassment for party and his family.

“He should cooperate with police,” Kejriwal said in his tweets referring to Bharti, who was the Law Minister during the 49-day stint of AAP government in 2013.

Yesterday, the Delhi High Court rejected Bharti’s anticipatory bail in a case related to domestic violence filed by his wife Lipika. Police teams have been looking for him.

Last week, a local court rejected his anticipatory bail in the same case. The party’s top brass had then expressed its displeasure over his disappearance and asked him to cooperate with the police.

The party has been taking the stand that the Delhi Police has been targeting it. However, Bharti’s act of going into hiding has not gone well with party leadership.

AAP leader Ashutosh today said while police has been “unnecessarily showing a lot of interest” in the case, Bharti should “surrender and present his side of the story”.

“The High Court has rejected his bail… he should come out in open and present his case before the investigating agency. There is no point in running away from the law.. we have respect for the law, we have respect for the courts and we believe that justice will be done,” he said.

(PTI)