Delhi minister slaps civilian: No FIR yet, AAP to move court

AAP MLA from Tilak Nagar, Jarnail Singh, claimed that Verma lost his temper and slapped the cameraman when he was raising issues concerning the road construction in the area.

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday, September 30, said that it would approach the court if an FIR is not registered against PWD Minister Parvesh Verma for slapping a civilian three days ago.

AAP Delhi unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj also said he and party workers would visit the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) office today demanding the FIR.

“For the last three days we have been demanding that an FIR be registered against Verma, but Delhi Police is doing the opposite and registering cases against us to intimidate us. We will ultimately go to the courts to get the FIR registered if police fail to do their duty,” Bharadwaj said in a press conference.

The party leader also demanded an independent audit by a road engineering expert agency, like the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), of the road under repair by the PWD in the Tilak Nagar area.

“It is ultimately corruption inside Verma’s department, which our MLA raised. An independent audit should be done of this; we will take up these demands at the ACB office,” Bharadwaj said.

The AAP leader also alleged that the police misbehaved with the party’s women councillors who were protesting against their inaction.

An FIR has been registered against Bharadwaj and AAP’s Tilak Nagar MLA Jarnail Singh, and several party workers, for allegedly assaulting a head constable and obstructing him from discharging his duties, police said on Tuesday.

The police have also filed a non-cognisable report (NCR) against Verma, a BJP leader, for slapping 22-year-old Sahib Singh during a road inspection last week when the latter was recording him visiting the area for road inspection.