kejriwal-cries-foul-as-delhi-police-detains-party-mla

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday cancelled the urgent hearing of a habeas corpus plea concerning AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar being allegedly picked up by the police from his residence. This came hours after AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal alleged that Delhi Police picked up the party’s East Delhi Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar from his home, broke the CCTV cameras and took the DVR along with them.

 

However, Delhi Police said that Kumar was released at 3:48 pm after being detained at around 5:15 am. Taking note of the submission, the court disposed of the petition filed by Kumar’s wife.

 

The petitioner submitted that the MLA was picked up around 4:30 am in the morning by 20 men in plain clothes since he was protesting against the death of a sanitation worker who was killed, and there has been no information concerning his whereabouts.

 

Kejriwal questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the whereabouts of Kumar and said that if police can pick an MLA from his home, where will the common man go for help. “Prime Minister Modi Ji, Where is our MLA Kuldeep Kumar? At 4 am this morning, your Delhi Police picked up Kuldeep Kumar from his home, broke the CCTV cameras, and took the DVR along with them. Your police is not telling us anything. This country will not tolerate such thuggery from you,” he wrote on X.

 

Former chief minister Atishi also criticised PM Modi and said the police was unwilling to share any details. “Modi ji's police picked him up at 4:30 this morning and dragged him away, and they're not willing to tell us where he is. The Commissioner and Special Commissioner aren't picking up their phones.”

 

AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the police was putting pressure on the family of the deceased sanitation worker to proceed with the cremation. AAP leaders have linked Kumar’s detention to his support for sanitation workers protesting the death of Anil, who was killed while on duty in Kalyanpuri. The protesters are demanding ₹1 crore in compensation for Anil’s family and a permanent government job for one of his family members.