AAP leader detained during candle march in Janakpuri

Saurabh Bhardwaj says, “The police then pushed us around and forcibly put us into a van. This authoritarianism of the Delhi Police will not be tolerated.”

New Delhi:Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj, along with locals and others, staged a candle march near the pit in the Janakpuri area around 5 pm, on Sunday. A 25-year-old man, Kamal Dhyani, had plunged to his death on Friday night.

AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj during a candle march near the pit in the Janakpuri area on Sunday.

Between 6 and 7 pm, Bhardwaj was removed from the site and detained in a van. Police said he did not have permission to stage the protest.

Bhardwaj questioned the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) about the incident and asked whether any action had been taken against the five to six police stations that did not act on the family’s complaint earlier on Friday. The DCP said the details would be shared later.

Senior police officers said Bhardwaj and others were blocking the road, causing disturbance in traffic flow.

“We had come to the same pit to pay tribute to Kamal Dhyani and light candles. However, as soon as we lit the candles, the police snatched his posters and tore them apart. The police then pushed us around and forcibly put us into a van. This authoritarianism of the Delhi Police will not be tolerated. The way we were stopped from paying tribute shows that no one is paying attention to law and order in Delhi,” Bhardwaj said.

The incident has reignited debate over whether the Delhi Police is more focused on silencing dissent than protecting citizens, especially when timely action could have saved a life, he said.

Bhardwaj added, “When Kamal Dhyani needed to be saved, there was not a single policeman present. The department could not even arrange a torch to search for him. Today, however, police personnel from nearby stations are deployed in full force to stop us.”

In response, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that losing a family member in any accident is a matter of deep sorrow, and providing support to the affected family is the duty of the government. However, indulging in statements and petty politics over the untimely death of a child is highly condemnable.

“If Saurabh Bharadwaj truly cared for the victim’s family, he would have at least gone to meet them,” said Sachdeva.