Delhi biker's death: AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj detained while trying to light candles near pit

New Delhi: The AAP's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj was briefly detained in Janakpuri on Sunday, with police saying the action was taken as he was trying to stage a protest over the death of a biker who fell into a 15-feet deep pit dug by the Delhi Jal Board.

Kamal Dhyani, an employee of a private bank in Rohini's Sector 10, was returning home on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday when he fell into a pit dug by the DJB for a sewer pipeline restoration project.

On Sunday, Bharadwaj and his companions were trying to walk towards the pit to light candles in the memory of the biker when they were detained.

A senior police officer said the action was taken as the AAP leaders were trying to stage a protest. "They were removed from the spot and were detained. They were taken to a nearby police station and later released," he said.

Later, in a post on X, Bharadwaj claimed that he and his companions had gone to offer condolences over the death of Kamal Dhyani. "The police erected barricades. We said no slogan shouting was being done and that we would return after lighting candles," he said.

Asking whether it is a crime to offer condolences, Bhardwaj claimed in another post that he was "arrested" and taken to a police station.