AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj has submitted written complaints to the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Lieutenant-Governor and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking an FIR against police personnel over what he alleges were violent assaults during protests in the Capital.
Mr. Bharadwaj said he had submitted three videos that purportedly show Delhi Police personnel physically assaulting him while detaining him during a protest. He warned that he would approach the court if an FIR was not registered.
The complaints allege a wider pattern of violence against political leaders and public representatives during protests. Mr. Bharadwaj also cited the case of CPI(M) MP John Brittas, who he alleged faced similar violence while protesting over alleged “vote-theft” in Delhi during the past week.
In his submissions, Mr. Bharadwaj argued that the incidents could not be treated as routine crowd-control measures. “The nature, execution and recurrence of these attacks clearly demonstrate that they were not routine crowd-control measures,” he wrote, according to the report.
He provided details of the alleged incidents, including their locations and timelines, and accused the personnel involved of participating in what he described as a “coordinated criminal conspiracy to cause me grievous bodily harm or death under the guise of official duty”. The allegations have not been independently established in the supplied report.
Mr. Bharadwaj further argued that an internal inquiry would not be sufficient because, according to his complaint, local police and security personnel were themselves accused of committing the alleged offences. He described the incidents collectively as an alleged attempt to inflict fatal or serious injuries on elected representatives while operating under the cover of official duty.
The complaints were addressed to the three authorities responsible for receiving and examining the allegations: the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Lieutenant-Governor and the Union Home Ministry. The report does not record a response from the Delhi Police or the other authorities on whether an FIR will be registered or whether an independent inquiry will be initiated.
The matter places the handling of protest-related policing and complaints against police personnel at the centre of a public-accountability dispute. Any further action will depend on the authorities’ response to the written complaints and on whether the alleged video evidence and other details are formally examined. Mr. Bharadwaj has said he will approach the court if no FIR is registered.
