New Delhi, February 8 Saurabh Bharadwaj, the head of the AAP's Delhi unit, was briefly detained in Janakpuri on Sunday, with police saying the action was taken because he was attempting to stage a protest over the death of a motorcyclist who fell into a 15-foot deep pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board.
Kamal Dhyani, an employee of a private bank in Rohini's Sector 10, was returning home on the night between Thursday and Friday when he fell into a pit dug by the DJB for a sewer pipeline restoration project.
On Sunday, Bharadwaj and his companions were trying to walk towards the pit to light candles in memory of the motorcyclist when they were detained.
A senior police officer said that the action was taken because the AAP leaders were attempting to stage a protest. "They were removed from the spot and were detained. They were taken to a nearby police station and later released," he said.
Later, in a post on X, Bharadwaj claimed that he and his companions had gone to offer condolences over the death of Kamal Dhyani. "The police erected barricades. We said that no slogans were being shouted and that we would return after lighting candles," he said.
Asking whether it is a crime to offer condolences, Bharadwaj claimed in another post that he was "arrested" and taken to a police station.