NEW DELHI: A day after Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma was seen slapping a young man during a road inspection in Tilak Nagar, Delhi Police lodged a non-cognisable report in connection with the incident.
Action has also been taken on a complaint filed by an assistant engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) against AAP MLA Jarnail Singh.
The non-cognisable report was registered under Section 115 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with voluntarily causing hurt.
A senior police officer said action under relevant sections of law had been taken on complaints filed by Sahib Singh, the young man involved in the confrontation, and the PWD assistant engineer.
“Some other complaints have also been received regarding the incident which will be taken up during the course of investigation,” the officer said.
The incident took place on Sunday during a road inspection being conducted by Verma in the Tilak Nagar area. A video of the incident shows Singh recording the minister and AAP MLA Jarnail Singh, with large chunks of road material visible in his hand.
The video shows Verma pulling down Singh's mobile phone before slapping him on the face. Singh then appears to confront the minister, before a security guard intervenes and separates the two as people gather around them.
The confrontation came amid a dispute between Verma and Jarnail Singh over the quality of road construction in the area.
Verma later defended his actions, saying he had been provoked. Referring to an alleged remark by one of Jarnail Singh's workers about his family, the minister said, “When one of ... [Jarnail Singh] workers started abusing my family, I reacted in anger the way anyone naturally would.”
Jarnail Singh represents Tilak Nagar in the Delhi Assembly.
Meanwhile, the PWD and a private contractor have filed a complaint against Singh, alleging that he had repeatedly indulged in “acts of interference and undue pressure” over illegal demands.
In his complaint to the Tilak Nagar SHO, the PWD Janakpuri division assistant engineer alleged that Singh arrived during the September 27 inspection by the PWD minister along with around 50 people.
