Former Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP MLA Jarnail Singh Detained Overnight After Protest Over PWD Minister’s Slapgate
New Delhi, 28 Sept 2026
In a dramatic late-night development, Delhi Police detained former Delhi minister and Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj, Tilak Nagar AAP MLA Jarnail Singh, Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar and hundreds of supporters who were staging a protest demanding registration of an FIR against Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma for allegedly slapping a youth.
According to police sources, to maintain law and order, the protesters were removed to Jaffarpur Kalan Police Station and were detained the entire night. AAP alleged they were kept in the police station without FIR being registered against the minister.
It may be recalled that the controversy erupted during a road inspection by PWD Minister Parvesh Verma in Tilak Nagar constituency on Saturday. AAP MLA Jarnail Singh had questioned the quality of a newly laid road.
As per complainant Saheb Singh, who was filming the inspection, the road surface crumbled like a ‘papad’ when the MLA picked up a piece.
“Parvesh Verma had no idea he would be exposed. At that moment, the MLA picked up a piece of the road, and it crumbled in his hand like a papad… he couldn’t handle it. He snatched my phone, twisted my arm, and slapped me,” Saheb Singh alleged in his complaint filed at Vikaspuri Police Station.
A video which went viral purportedly shows Minister Verma pushing down Singh’s phone and slapping him across the face before security intervenes. Singh also alleged that people accompanying the minister assaulted and threatened him and gave death threats.
Police said a complaint has been received and facts are being verified, but no FIR has been registered yet against the minister.
Minister Verma has given a counter version. He said he had gone to inspect the road and had called MLA Jarnail Singh to the spot. According to Verma, AAP workers behaved disrespectfully and one of them allegedly abused his family, following which he reacted in the heat of the moment. He has also accused the MLA of damaging the newly laid road and seeking commission from PWD workers, an allegation rejected by AAP.
On Sunday evening, hundreds of AAP workers led by Bharadwaj and Jarnail Singh gheraoed Tilak Nagar area and marched towards the DCP office demanding FIR and resignation of Verma, raising slogans “Parvesh Verma should resign, FIR must be registered.”
The former Delhi minister and Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj said : “We are going to the DCP office because the FIR has not been registered yet. When everything happened in front of the SHO, and everything is on video, why has the FIR not been registered? This is complete collusion by the police. This hooliganism will not be tolerated,” Bharadwaj said.
In a post on X, Bharadwaj said: “Under the protection of Delhi Police, BJP minister Parvesh slapped a young man in broad daylight. The police did not even register an FIR. When we went to the DCP office to demand answers, senior officers misbehaved with women activists and arrested me along with hundreds of workers. In the end, who should we now turn to for hope in justice?”
AAP workers said they will not move till an FIR is registered.
The incident has snowballed into a major political confrontation. AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has demanded action against the minister, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also criticised the BJP, saying the incident reflected a government that no longer fears voters and linked it to his “vote theft” allegation.
