NEW DELHI: The man who was slapped by Delhi PWD minister Parvesh Verma during a confrontation over a newly laid road in west Delhi’s Vikaspuri on Sunday was out on bail in a June case registered at Tilak Nagar police station over the alleged assault of an MCD sanitation worker.The man, identified as Sahib Singh in connection with Sunday’s incident, had been arrested in the earlier case and is currently out on bail.According to the complaint in FIR, registered at Tilak Nagar police station on the complaint of MCD sanitation worker Dhan Bahadur, three-four boys allegedly assaulted him and forcibly took him away on a scooter.Bahadur alleged that the men assaulted him, forcibly made him sit on a scooter and took him away.He said the scooter eventually stopped near a corner of a street, allowing him to somehow free himself with the help of some people.Bahadur was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment.The earlier case has come into focus after Sunday’s confrontation in Vikaspuri, where Singh was seen recording Verma during an inspection of the newly laid Vikaspuri Ring Road.AAP MLA Jarnail Singh and his supporters had arrived at the site and questioned the quality of the road. In a video of the incident, workers are seen peeling off a portion of the bitumen layer, with Jarnail alleging that it came off “like a carpet”.Singh, who identified himself as the MLA’s social media handler, was walking alongside Verma and recording the inspection on his phone. As Singh moved closer, Verma reached towards the phone before slapping him.“Oye maar kaise raha hai?” a man can be heard saying in the video. Verma’s security personnel subsequently moved him away.AAP protested against the incident and demanded Verma’s arrest. Police detained AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar and other party workers during the protest.Verma later defended his actions and alleged that Jarnail Singh had been pressuring PWD engineers to arrange a commission from the contractor. He also alleged that AAP workers had abused his family and obstructed road construction work.“When one of their workers started hurling abuses at my family, I reacted just as anyone would in the heat of the moment,” Verma said.Verma further alleged that Jarnail Singh and his supporters had been visiting the road after it was laid and damaging it before recording videos alleging corruption.Jarnail Singh rejected the allegations and said he had gone to inspect the road after receiving complaints about its quality. He alleged that instead of taking action over the condition of the road, Verma slapped the person recording the inspection.Police said two complaints had been received in connection with Sunday’s confrontation. One was filed by the private road contractor, alleging that Jarnail Singh demanded Rs 50 lakh and issued threats. The other was filed by Singh against Verma over the alleged assault.Police said the complaints were being investigated and no FIR had been registered in connection with Sunday’s confrontation at that stage.The political row intensified after the incident, with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal condemning the alleged assault and announcing that he would visit the road to inspect it. BJP leader Tajinder Bagga also referred to Singh’s earlier arrest while defending Verma.
