New Delhi, Aug. 18 -- The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday alleged that Delhi Police took its Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar to an undisclosed location early in the morning while he was supporting sanitation workers protesting over the death of a colleague. AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that around 20 police personnel in plain clothes arrived at Kumar's residence at around 4 am and took him away. He claimed the MLA had been supporting the workers' demand for compensation for the family of the deceased sanitation worker and had sought a meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.
According to the allegations, Kumar was taken away instead of the protesters being allowed to meet the chief minister. Kumar's team later claimed that between 30 and 40 people arrived at his residence and that the CCTV recorder outside the house was also removed. The team said it was unclear whether those who took him were Delhi Police personnel or others, and that his whereabouts were not immediately known. The allegations came amid a protest by sanitation workers and auto-tipper drivers over the death of 27-year-old MCD contractual worker Anil Kumar in Kalyanpuri on August 16. The worker was allegedly stabbed while carrying out his duties. Police have registered a case and arrested a suspect in connection with the killing.
The protesting workers and the deceased's family have been demanding Rs.1 crore in compensation and a permanent government job for one member of the family. They had also refused to take the body from the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital mortuary following the post-mortem, demanding action against those responsible. Bharadwaj further alleged that police were pressuring the deceased worker's family to proceed with the cremation and had moved the body from the hospital to the family's residence. The family was reportedly seeking justice and had opposed the immediate cremation. There was no immediate response from Delhi Police to the allegations regarding Kumar's detention or the cremation. The developments have intensified the confrontation between the protesting sanitation workers and authorities over the handling of the worker's death.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.