New Delhi
oi-Ashish Rana
Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma has said the man he slapped during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar had abused his family, as the incident has taken a political dispute between the BJP and AAP. Delhi Police has now registered a non-cognisable report against minister Pravesh Verma on a complaint by the man, identified as Sahib Singh.
Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma faces a non-cognizable report after allegedly slapping Sahib Singh during a Tilak Nagar road inspection; Verma claims Singh abused his family, while AAP MLA Jarnail Singh questioned road quality amid the incident.
Police Register NCR Against Parvesh Verma
The report was registered a day after a video of the incident went viral on social media. Police said complaints were received from Sahib Singh as well as a PWD assistant engineer. The report concerns allegations of voluntarily causing hurt against the minister.
The incident took place while Verma was inspecting road repair work on a stretch between Janakpuri District Centre Chowk and the Najafgarh Drain. AAP MLA Jarnail Singh was also present and questioned the quality of the road work.
Jarnail Singh Claims Road Surface Was Coming Off
According to Jarnail Singh, Sahib Singh was recording the inspection when the confrontation took place. Singh said he had received a call from Verma asking him to show the road damage.
“I peeled the road off like a carpet and showed it to him. Seeing this, the minister became agitated and, in his agitation, slapped our colleague who was recording the video, and then fled from here,” Singh said.
Videos circulated online showed Verma pulling down the man’s mobile phone before the alleged slap. The footage was shared by AAP leaders, leading to demands for action against the minister.
Verma Says Family Was Abused
Verma rejected the account that the incident was only about the road inspection. He said he reacted after the man allegedly abused his family and argued that AAP workers were trying to obstruct government officials from doing their work.
The Delhi BJP also claimed that Sahib Singh had previously been arrested in connection with an alleged assault on an MCD employee. Separately, police registered an FIR based on a PWD assistant engineer’s complaint against Jarnail Singh, alleging criminal intimidation and obstruction of duty during an earlier 24 September incident.
A non-cognisable report means police generally need a magistrate’s permission before investigating the alleged offence. The latest action has added another legal dimension to the political dispute over the road inspection.
