NEW DELHI, AUGUST 18: A major political confrontation broke out between the Aam Aadmi Party and central authorities following the early morning preventive detention of East Delhi MLA Kuldeep Kumar. The detention, linked to ongoing demonstrations over the death of an on-duty sanitation worker in Kalyanpuri, led AAP leaders to accuse law enforcement of intimidation.
“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,” AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal stated, addressing the Prime Minister in a statement on social media.
The former Chief Minister questioned the accountability of law enforcement agencies operating in the national capital.
“Your police is not telling us anything. This country will not tolerate such thuggery from you,” Kejriwal stated, adding that common citizens face severe uncertainty if elected representatives are taken without immediate public record.
AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that nearly twenty plainclothes officers arrived at the lawmaker’s home to take him into custody while he was organizing support for the deceased worker’s family.
“The MLA had been raising the voice of sanitation workers demanding compensation for the family,” Bharadwaj stated, asserting that the party was demanding a Rs 1 crore payout and a permanent job for the victim’s kin.
Former Chief Minister Atishi also criticized central authorities, stating that senior police officials initially refused to clarify the legislator’s location. The stand-off eased later in the afternoon after police informed the Delhi High Court that the MLA had been formally released from preventive custody following the conclusion of administrative procedures.
