Eight People Arrested Over Violence, Vandalism Outside CM Kejriwal's Residence

Scenes of violence and vandalism unfolded outside the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, as BJP workers on Wednesday, 30 March clashed with police during a protest against Mr Kejriwal's remarks on the recently released controversial movie 'The Kashmir Files'.

(Photo: PTI)

The Delhi Police on Thursday, 30 March, said that they have arrested eight people in a case of vandalism outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal that happened on Wednesday.

A senior police official confirmed that several teams were conducting raids to nab more people involved in the case.

"With the help of CCTV footage, we identified the persons behind the incident. We formed several teams and arrested the accused from different places," the official said, according to IANS.

Among those arrested are Chandrakant, Pradeep Tiwari, Raju Kumar Singh, Jitender Bisht of Karawal Nagar, Naveen Kumar of Jahangirpuri, Bablu Kumar of Jahangirpuri, Neeraj Dixit, and Sunny.

The Delhi Police had on Wednesday registered an FIR against unidentified people in this matter.

The FIR was registered under sections 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 188 (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the Indian Penal Code and under section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court seeking a special probe into the case of vandalism.

AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj approached the High Court seeking the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to undertake an independent criminal probe into the incident which took place on Wednesday.

What Had Happened on Wednesday?

Scenes of violence and vandalism unfolded outside Kejriwal's official residence on Wednesday, after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers, led by Yuva Morcha president and Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya, clashed with the police during a protest against Kejriwal's remarks on the recently released controversial movie The Kashmir Files.

Visuals from the ground captured Surya, along with a sea of people wielding BJP flags and placards, censuring Kejriwal's "insult" to Kashmiri Pandits, with the residence of the AAP leader heavily barricaded. The AAP leader's house was defaced with red paint amidst the chaos.

Addressing the media on Wednesday evening, Surya said that the protest was held against the way Kejriwal "mocked and made fun of massacre of Kashmiri Pandits (in Vidhan Sabha)."

Around 70 people were briefly detained by the police after the violence broke out on Wednesday afternoon. The police, later in the day, dispatched teams to arrest the persons booked in the case. A probe into the incident is underway.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has dubbed the clashes as an attempt to "murder" Kejriwal, with Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia slamming the BJP for acting like a "sore loser" after the AAP's massive victory in the recently-concluded Punjab Assembly elections.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI.)