Brief appearance by Maharana Pratap on Akbar Road board

According to police officials, around 1.30 pm, a patrolling staff called up senior officers to inform them about the incident.

“The patrolling staff removed the poster and took it to the police station. The poster only had the words Maharana Pratap Road and a direction sign. It had been made to fit the signboard,” said a police officer.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Madhur Verma said they have registered a case under the Delhi Defacement Act against unknown persons and launched a probe. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal)

Officials of the New Delhi Municipal Council were also informed of the matter. “Most places in Lutyens’ Delhi are covered with CCTV cameras, but none appear to be pointing to this specific location,” added the officer.

NDMC spokesperson M S Sherawat said that it is a sensitive law and order issue which need to be addressed.

“There is a road renaming committee which is concerned with this matter. Since this road falls under the jurisdiction of the NDMC, any proposal for renaming should be addressed to us. Only after consideration and due procedure can the name of a road be changed. However, we have not received any such proposal from anyone,” said Shehrawat.

The road houses the offices of the Indian Nation Congress, BJP chief Amit Shah and the bungalows of several Union ministers. According to police, this is not the first time such an act has taken place. In September 2017, members of the Hindu Sena had defaced the signboard by painting it black. They had also demanded that the name be changed to Maharana Pratap Road.

In May 2015, another outfit, the Shiv Sena Hindustan, had allegedly defaced signboards of Safdar Hashmi Marg, Feroze Shah Road, Aurangzeb Road and Akbar Road.