The politically charged atmosphere in Delhi over Minister Parvesh Verma allegedly slapping a man during a road inspection in West Delhi on Sunday went up a notch on Monday, as the Delhi Police confirmed that no FIR had been registered yet in connection with the incident.
Police have received a complaint from the man, identified as Saheb Singh, and are verifying the allegations.
The development surfaced as the leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stepped up their demand for an FIR against minister Verma. AAP leaders Saurabh Bhardwaj, Jarnail Singh and Kuldeep Kumar led a protest in West Delhi seeking action against the minister and were detained by police.
A screengrab of the slapping incident
Bhardwaj alleged in a post uploaded on ‘X’ that he and others had been detained at Jafar Pur Kalan police station instead of the cops registering a case against Verma.
Video kicks up row
Verma came under fire after a video from Sunday’s road inspection appeared to show him pulling down the cell phone of a man recording the proceedings and slapping him later. The incident took place during a confrontation over the quality of a newly-constructed road in the Vikaspuri-Tilak Nagar area.
In another footage, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh is seen pulling out portions of the newly laid road surface with his hands and showing them to Verma. The situation escalated when Verma confronted the man recording the inspection. People present at the spot then intervened and separated the duo.
Later, Verma defended his actions in a video uploaded on ‘X’, claiming that an AAP worker had abused his family. Verma said in the video, “When one of his (MLA Jarnail Singh) workers started hurling abuses at my family, I reacted just as anyone would in the heat of the moment.”
Crowd seen separating Minister Singh and the man whom he slapped
He further alleged that Singh had damaged the road as he was not receiving a ‘commission’ from PwD workers at the site. Singh shunned the allegation and said the charges were being levelled because he had exposed alleged irregularities in the road work.
Congress joins attack
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also weighed in on the row on Monday, and accused the BJP government of allowing the ‘arrogance of power’ to translate into the humiliation of citizens.
Kharge referred to the alleged slapping incident in an ‘X’ post and cited other instances of police action against protestors and controversial statements made by political leaders.
His remarks have added another dimension to the escalating political exchange over the incident.
Mallikarjun Kharge
PwD complaints against AAP MLA
Meanwhile, Delhi Police have also received complaints from PwD engineers and the contractor, alleging that Jarnail SIngh tried to stop road construction work and illegally demanded money.
The complaints, submitted on Sunday, allege that Singh and his team damaged the newly-laid road and sought action for allegedly obstructing public work and criminal intimidation.
Verma has made similar allegations against the AAP MLA, claiming that the road was deliberately damaged after Singh allegedly failed to secure a commission. Singh, however, has denied the said charges.
The Delhi BJP has called the incident ‘unfortunate’ and said Verma himself had acknowledged that his action was wrong. BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, however, questioned Singh’s conduct, alleging that he had arrived with supporters despite being informed about the inspection in advance.