Delhi Police has registered a case after broken glass pieces were found scattered on roads in Shahdara’s Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) and Jhilmil Colony areas, both located along the Kanwar Yatra route.
An e-rickshaw driver has been detained. The e-rickshaw was carrying 19 glass panels from Shalimar Garden in Uttar Pradesh to Seelampur in Delhi when it was allegedly hit from behind, leading to the panels breaking and falling on the road between Chintamani Chowk and Jhilmil Metro Station, they said.The driver, Kusum Pal, from Ghaziabad, has been detained for questioning. His route is being verified and CCTV footage is being examined, police said.
According to an official statement, the matter first came to light on July 12 when the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Seemapuri shared a video that showed the broken glass on the route.
The video, however, had been recorded earlier on June 10 and was uploaded by a local, Piyush, who was informed about it by his friend Montu. After the incident came to light Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Seemapuri, inspected the stretch and found only a few shards remaining. Sanitation workers from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) told police that the area had already been cleaned earlier that morning.Later that night, the Public Works Department (PWD) also alerted police through a PCR call made by a junior engineer.
Based on his statement, an FIR was registered on Sunday at Seemapuri police station under sections 125 (act of endangering human life or personal safety due to rash or negligent conduct) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is underway, police said.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday said that it had come to notice on Saturday night that a large quantity of glass shards had been strewn across about a one-kilometre stretch of road in Shahdara’s Dilshad Garden, along the Kanwar Yatra route.
The LG, in a tweet, said, “It came to notice yester night that large amount of shrads of broken glass had been strewn on a stretch of about one km road in Dilshad Garden, on the route of Kaanwar Yatris, who walk barefoot. Instructed Police to reach the spot and directed PWD to immediately take corrective measures to clean the road. The road was cleaned within two hours by PWD. Police has filed an FIR.
Crime branch is investigating the matter”.
The incident came to light after Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra raised the matter on social media on Saturday, expressing concern over the safety of the pilgrims and assuring that action would be taken and that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had taken note.
Following the incident, police personnel were deployed in the area and they patrolled roads near the flyover and surrounding Kanwar camps to ensure safety. The Kanwar Yatra began on 11th July and will conclude on 23rd July.
Raman, a Kanwar yatri resting in one of the camps, said the journey had been peaceful so far. “All arrangements are good and we have no issues. We saw a few glass pieces on the flyover, but many workers were cleaning the roads even at night,” he said.
Aman, another yatri, said, “There were a few glass shreds, but they were being cleaned. I saw close to 7 to 8 Kanwar camps and others still setting up, so no problems so far.”
Mishra posted on the X, “In Delhi’s Shahdara, some mischievous elements scattered glass shards along the Kanwar Yatra route for nearly a kilometre. PWD and municipal workers are cleaning the route. Local MLA Sanjay Goyal ji is present there. CM@gupta_rekha ji has personally taken cognisance of the incident. An FIR will be filed by PWD against the mischievous elements”.
BJP leader and Shahadara MLA Sanjay Goyal, who reached the spot to oversee the cleaning work on Sunday, said it was not the first time pieces of glass have been found on the same route. “I got the glass pieces removed from this route on Friday, thinking that some vehicle’s window must have shattered. But, this was repeated on Saturday as well, which shows that it has been done on purpose,” Goyal said.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva on Sunday said that the alleged act of scattering small and large pieces of glass along a stretch of the Kanwar Yatra route appears to be a planned conspiracy by anti-social elements to disturb peace.
He alleged that certain political parties have consistently engaged in appeasement politics in favour of a particular religious group, and their silence on the incident casts doubt on their intent.
Expressing relief that no untoward incident occurred, Sachdeva said that since the Kanwar Yatra is still in its early phase, no pilgrims were present on the affected stretch on Saturday night; otherwise, the situation could have led to an accident or even unrest.