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This is an archive article published on May 20, 2024
Over 100 policemen, several teams of paramilitary personnel thwart AAP’s ‘Jail Bharo’ march towards BJP headquarters
Around 1 pm, the protesters moved towards the BJP office, but were stopped near the Rouse Avenue Court by the Delhi Police
4 min read
Police officers and paramilitary personnel stand guard during AAP’s protest march. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)Over 100 Delhi Police officers and several teams of paramilitary personnel were deployed on Sunday near the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office at ITO’s DDU Marg in view of the party’s planned ‘Jail Bharo’ protest march to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar on charges of assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The protesters were not allowed to proceed towards the BJP office by police, said officials.
Elaborate security arrangements were made outside the BJP headquarters ahead of Sunday’s demonstration. With heavy barricading being in place around the AAP office as well as along the road leading up to the Rouse Avenue Court, senior officers including Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Harsh Vardhan and Additional DCP (Central) Sachin Sharma, who were present at the site, warned protesters not to march to the BJP’s Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg office. Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) — which prohibits gathering of four or more persons — was also in place. Police buses were stationed at the spot, a precautionary measure, in case protesters tried to remove/ breach barricades and had to be detained, said officials.
DCP Vardhan said that the AAP “had not obtained” a written permission for the demonstration.
Maliwal alleged that Kumar assaulted her on May 13 when she had gone to the CM’s house to meet him. Kumar was arrested on Saturday and produced in a court, which remanded him to a five-day police custody.
CM Arvind Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders at a press conference in Delhi on Sunday (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
Many AAP leaders, meanwhile, claimed that Maliwal’s allegation was a “conspiracy by the BJP to trap Kejriwal”.
On Sunday, scores of leaders, workers, and supporters of the AAP took part in the protest march from the AAP office. However, none from the Congress were in attendance. Senior AAP leaders Atishi, Gopal Rai, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Raghav Chadha among others marched towards the BJP headquarters on Sunday, as the protesters raised slogans.
Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot said: “Investigation is underway… the truth will come out soon. The Maliwal case won’t be a hurdle for us. We are campaigning (for the Lok Sabha polls). We are confident that we will win all the seven seats (in Delhi).”
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Fifty six-year-old Chand Masti, an AAP worker from Matiala, said: “I have been associated with the party since the anti-corruption movement (in 2011)… What happened to Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar is unjust and baseless. The matter is still sub-judice, and… Swati Maliwal’s allegations have not been proven yet.”
AAP leader Durgesh Pathak, meanwhile, criticised the Centre and the Delhi Police. “Why arrest AAP leaders one by one? Why don’t you arrest all of us?… I just hope the probe is impartial.”
Around 1 pm, the protesters moved towards the BJP office, but were stopped near the Rouse Avenue Court by the Delhi Police
MCD’s Deputy Mayor Aale Mohammad Iqbal said: “We were not allowed to march towards the BJP headquarters. We are here just to support Kejriwal ji. After the ED and the CBI, now the Delhi Police is targeting AAP leaders…”
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