Delhi Police Head Constable Assaulted During AAP Protest In Tilak Nagar; AAP MLAs Jarnail Singh And Saurabh Bharadwaj Detained

New Delhi: A Delhi Police head constable on plainclothes duty was allegedly assaulted while documenting an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) agitation in West Delhi’s Tilak Nagar, where party workers were protesting against PWD Minister Parvesh Verma for slapping the aide of MLA Jarnail Singh.

The altercation is linked to an incident on Monday, following which, the police registered FIR against AAP MLA Jarnail Singh, his aide Sahib Singh and former minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, and detained both Jarnail Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday. Though Sahib Singh named in the FIR, has not been detained so far.

A video clip of the confrontation, now circulating widely on social media, has brought the sequence of events into sharper focus and raised fresh questions about crowd management during the protest march.

Video Shows Plainclothes Constable Being Pushed

The footage captures the head constable, dressed in a green polo shirt and not in uniform, performing videography and intelligence-gathering duties as part of the police deployment. He is initially seen standing with other personnel near a barricade erected to control the rally.

As a large contingent of AAP supporters and workers, led by Jarnail Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj, advances along the road, the constable moves ahead to record the march on his mobile phone. Moments later, several protesters are seen pushing him, with Jarnail Singh also pointing in his direction. The situation escalates as the crowd surrounds the constable and jostles him.

Other police personnel posted at the barricade quickly intervene to extricate their colleague, resulting in a heated exchange between the two sides before an officer escorts the constable to safety. The police officials stated that they are examining the possibility of registering a separate FIR in connection with the assault on the policeman.

Slap During Road Inspection Triggered Protest

The protest itself was organised a day after a confrontation during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar. PWD Minister Parvesh Verma was reviewing road construction work when an argument broke out with MLA Jarnail Singh over the quality of the work being executed.

During the exchange, Sahib Singh was filming the interaction on his phone, when allegedly Parvesh Verma pushed down the phone and slapped him. Sahib Singh has claimed that the minister struck him deliberately to prevent the recording.

The dispute has since spiralled into cross-complaints and police action involving both sides. While one FIR has been lodged against Jarnail Singh, Sahib Singh and Bharadwaj in connection with the protest and the alleged assault on the constable, another FIR has also been filed against Jarnail Singh and others on charges of obstructing government work, intimidation and criminal threats.

AAP Questions Police Probe

Reacting to the viral video of the slap, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj strongly criticised the police inquiry and accused the force of shielding the minister. Questioning the progress of the investigation, he said that his party had sought clarity from the Station House Officer (SHO).

Meanwhile, the police are continuing to examine both incidents and further action is expected after scrutiny of the video evidence.