Kalyanpuri murder: AAP MLA detained briefly; sanitation workers’ stir to continue

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Protesters, including sanitation workers, staging a demonstration on NH 24 against the murder of 27-year-old Anil Kumar. Sushil Kumar Verma | Photo Credit: SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA

Delhi witnessed high drama on Tuesday, with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal claiming that party leader and Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar, who has been leading a protest against the murder of a 27-year-old sanitation worker in Kalyanpuri, was picked up by policemen around 4 a.m.

Mr. Kuldeep’s family filed a habeas corpus petition in the Delhi High Court over his “illegal” custody.

Senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for Mr. Kuldeep’s family, told the court that 20-25 policemen in plain clothes picked up the MLA and that his kin had no information about his whereabouts despite reaching out to the police.

Delhi Police later told the court that he was taken into preventive custody early in the morning and released at 3.48 p.m. The court closed the case, saying the purpose of the petition had been served.

Sanitation workers in the city have been protesting against Anil Kumar’s murder on August 16, with garbage collection being affected in several parts of the city. On Tuesday, heaps of trash dotted roadsides across east and north-east Delhi while hundreds of sanitation workers gathered on National Highway 24 demanding ₹1 crore in compensation for Anil’s family and a government job for one of his kin. A large contingent of police and paramilitary personnel was deployed at the site.

Mayor Pravesh Wahi said on Tuesday that he had requested the private firm that employed Anil to increase the compensation for his family from ₹8 lakh to ₹10 lakh. However, the protesters reportedly rejected the offer and said the stir would continue until their demands are met.

Earlier in the day, AAP took on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Police over the Kondli legislator’s “abduction”.

“Because Kuldeep Kumar belongs to the Valmiki community, will the Prime Minister get him abducted?” said AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.

In an X post, Mr. Kejriwal stated: “At 4 am on Tuesday morning, your Delhi Police picked up Kuldeep Kumar from his home, broke the CCTV cameras installed at his residence and took away the DVR. If a sitting MLA can be picked up from his home by the police in this manner, without any information or reason, where is the common man supposed to go?”

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor accused AAP of politicising the murder and attempting to link the incident, which he said was driven by “personal motives”, to the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. He added that the private firm had offered “appropriate compensation” to Anil’s family.

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