Delhi sanitation worker murder : Amid protests, 10L aid announced, job for kin

Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi on Tuesday said the family of the sanitation worker who was stabbed to death in east Delhi will be given Rs 10 lakh compensation and a job for one family member, as the killing triggered protests by civic workers and a political confrontation between the AAP and the BJP-led Delhi government.

Wahi told PTI that the stabbing was "unfortunate" and appeared to have stemmed from personal reasons.

"We are ready to provide all the necessary help to the victim's family. We have already asked the authorities to provide Rs 10 lakh compensation," he said.

He also assured that a job would be provided to a family member of the deceased.

According to police, the killing, which occurred on Sunday, was allegedly linked to a domestic dispute. The accused, identified as 52-year-old Nihal, was allegedly intoxicated and angry over his wife's phone conversations with another man, but encountered the victim and stabbed him.

Police said Nihal’s intended target was the man, Gulshan, but he instead encountered Anil, who was collecting garbage in Kalyanpuri around 8.15 am. Anil and Gulshan were friends, they said.

Nihal allegedly stabbed Anil with a knife before fleeing and was later arrested from beneath a flyover near the Ghazipur border, police said.

Wahi accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of trying to create chaos over the incident and said disrupting sanitation services would only inconvenience Delhi residents.

"AAP just wants to create chaos on this issue. They are not interested in solutions. Stopping sanitation work in the city will lead to unnecessary hassle for the public," he said.

The mayor's remarks came amid an escalating protest by sanitation workers following the killing of 27-year-old MCD worker Anil, who was stabbed while collecting garbage in Kalyanpuri on Sunday morning.

Additionally, the AAP alleged that its East Delhi MLA Kuldeep Kumar was taken away by Delhi Police early Tuesday and taken to an "undisclosed location."

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that around 20 policemen in plain clothes arrived at around 4 am and "kidnapped" Kumar, alleging that the MLA had been raising the issue of compensation for the deceased worker's family.

"Instead of meeting the protesters, they have taken MLA Kuldeep Kumar to an undisclosed location," Bharadwaj said in a post on X.

He also alleged that police were pressuring the deceased worker's family to go ahead with the cremation.

"Prime Minister Modi Ji, where is our MLA Kuldeep Kumar? At 4 am this morning, your Delhi Police picked up Kuldeep Kumar from his home, broke the CCTV cameras, and took the DVR along with them. Your police is not telling us anything," AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said in a post on X.

There was no immediate response from Delhi Police to the allegations.

The incident has brought sanitation workers out on the streets across the city. Hundreds of sanitation workers and auto-tipper drivers had gathered at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital on Monday, demanding Rs 1 crore compensation and a permanent government job for a member of Anil's family.

The protesters had refused to allow Anil's body to be taken from the hospital mortuary for the last rites and threatened to keep auto-tippers off Delhi's roads until their demands were met.