Saurabh Bharadwaj seeks FIR against Delhi Police personnel over alleged assault

Aam Aadmi Party Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday submitted written complaints to the Delhi police Commissioner, the Lieutenant-Governor and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, alleging a systematic pattern of violence against political leaders and public representatives by police personnel during protests. 

He demanded the registration of an FIR against the personnel concerned and warned that he would approach the court if no FIR is registered. 

In his complaints, Mr. Bharadwaj stated that he had submitted three videos purportedly showing Delhi Police personnel physically assaulting him while detaining him during a peaceful protest. He alleged that CPI(M) MP John Brittas had also faced similar violence while protesting alleged “vote-theft” in the Capital over the past week. 

“The nature, execution and recurrence of these attacks clearly demonstrate that they were not routine crowd-control measures,” Mr. Bharadwaj wrote. 

Providing details of the locations, timelines and incidents, he alleged a “coordinated criminal conspiracy to cause me grievous bodily harm or death under the guise of official duty”. 

“Taken together, these actions demonstrate a clear and deliberate criminal conspiracy to inflict fatal or serious injuries on elected representatives under the cover of law. Since local police and security personnel are themselves the perpetrators of these crimes, an internal inquiry would not be sufficient to ensure justice,” he wrote.