AAP stages sit-in seeking FIR against Delhi minister Parvesh Verma over slapping incident

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday staged a sit-in outside the Vikaspuri police station, seeking an FIR against Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma over the alleged slapping of a 22-year-old man during a road inspection in west Delhi's Tilak Nagar.

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj led the protest along with party workers after meeting DCP (West) Hareshwar Swami earlier in the day. 

In a post on X, Bharadwaj said, “Shameless police of Modi. Delhi Police has not yet registered an FIR against Parvesh Verma. DCP, ACP, SHO said they have not seen the video of the slap yet. Is it believable? We are sitting at Vikaspuri police station and will not go until we get a copy of the FIR.” 

Bharadwaj further alleged that ACP Nirmal and SHO Ghanshyam had failed to conduct even a basic inquiry into the incident within 24 hours, despite the video being widely circulated.

Delhi Police, however, registered a non-cognisable report (NCR) against Verma over the alleged slapping incident on Monday. An FIR was also registered against AAP MLA Jarnail Singh for allegedly obstructing public servants while they were carrying out their duties, officials said.

The incident took place during Verma's inspection of a newly laid road in Tilak Nagar. Jarnail Singh, who was present at the site, questioned the quality of the road and pulled out portions of its surface by hand. Sahib Singh, 22, was recording the proceedings when Verma allegedly slapped him.

Verma later said he would not allow AAP workers to obstruct government officials from performing their duties. He also alleged that Sahib Singh was associated with the AAP and had a previous case against him.

Jarnail Singh, in a post on X on Monday, said he had learnt that an FIR had been registered against him after he exposed alleged BJP scams. He said he was not afraid and would continue to raise allegations of corruption.

The FIR against Jarnail Singh was registered following a complaint by a PWD assistant engineer. The NCR against Verma was filed on the complaint of Sahib Singh under Section 115 of the BNS, which deals with voluntarily causing hurt, officials said.  (with inputs from PTI)