New Delhi: Shrikant Tyagi, who was booked by Noida police on August 5 for allegedly assaulting a co-resident of the Grand Omaxe society, was arrested from Meerut on Tuesday, August 9.Although BJP leaders have denied any link with him, several reports have provided evidence that contradicts these claims.A 2018 letter confirms Tyagi’s affiliation to the party, the Indian Express reported. According to the report, Tyagi’s appointment letter, dated August 27, 2018, states that he is the national co-coordinator (sah-sanyojak) of the BJP Kisan Morcha’s Yuva Kisan Samiti. A BJP leader confirmed to the daily that the letter was genuine. He further confirmed that Tyagi was part of the team from August 2018 to April 2021.Another source in the Uttar Pradesh BJP told the newspaper that Tyagi was seeking a ticket to contest elections from Modinagar, but was not considered.NDTV reported that a car seized by the Uttar Pradesh police after Tyagi’s arrest has BJP flags on it, while a sticker that is issued to MLAs to allow their entry into the state assembly is also pasted on the front windshield. Tyagi used this car while he was on the run from the police, the report added.The Quint also reported that Tyagi was provided security by the Ghaziabad administration between 2018 and 2020. He was provided with one personal security officer in 2018, which was later increased to four on government orders. The security cover was withdrawn on February 26, 2020.On his Instagram profile, he has shared photos with BJP president J.P. Nadda and former UP deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya. Many posts have hashtags such as #Elections2019, #BJPIndia and #BJPMission4UP. In fact, it appears from his Instagram story highlights that Tyagi had campaigned for the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha 2019 elections in Varanasi.Shrikant Tyagi with BJP president J.P. Nadda. Photo: Instagram/mshrikanttyagiTyagi was booked by the police for assaulting and abusing a woman resident of Grand Omaxe housing society in Noida’s Sector 93 who objected to him planting trees in the common area of the society. On August 8, government officials demolished illegal structures outside his Noida residence.Multiple videos of the August 5 episode surfaced on social media, where Tyagi is purportedly seen to be assaulting the woman and also hurled abusive words for her husband.His Instagram account bio says that he is national executive member, BJP Kisan Morcha and national co-coordinator of Yuva Kisan Samiti, BJP Kisan Morcha.However, BJP’s Noida unit chief Manoj Gupta said Tyagi is not associated with the party.“He had come to the party some four-five years ago with Swamy Prasad Maurya, who has now left the BJP. Tyagi was his disciple and not a member of the BJP,” Gupta told PTI.Denying the saffron party’s links with Tyagi, BJP MP from Gautam Budh Nagar, Mahesh Sharma, during a visit to the residential society, had told the newspaper: “I want to assure you that this man is not associated with our party. He may have clicked a photo with a party leader; that’s a separate issue. I have lived in Noida for the past 49 years. The actions depicted by Tyagi cannot be accepted by the party. The whole party is standing with you; I want the women who are like my sisters and daughters to be rest assured. National President of the party, J.P. Nadda, has also taken cognizance of the incident.”Note: This article was first published at 11:52 pm on August 9 and republished on the same date at 12:15 pm with the news of Shrikant Tyagi’s arrest.