AAP supporter slapped Kejriwal as he was dissatisfied with party leaders: Police
New Delhi: An AAP supporter slapped Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal during a roadshow on Saturday because he was dissatisfied with the behaviour of the party leaders, police said.
Kejriwal was atop an open jeep when a man wearing a red t-shirt jumped onto the vehicle and slapped the chief minister before being pulled off the jeep.
The 33-year-old man, identified as Suresh, who is a scrap dealer in the area, has been a supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party and used to work as an organiser of the party's rallies and meetings, they said.
"An enquiry by a DCP-level officer has been ordered to enquire as to how this person was allowed to be in the reception or proximate group," Anil Mittal, Additional PRO (Delhi Police) said.
According to his version, over a period of time, Suresh got disenchanted due to behaviour of the AAP leaders. His anger intensified due to "distrust of the party in the armed forces", the official said, adding further interrogation is on in the matter.
No FIR has been registered in the matter as police did not receive any complaint.
"Today, he was wearing a cap (which he later took off) and scarf of the AAP, and was in the reception group of the CM. No one objected to him being there as he had been an organiser for the party. He was standing near the front right tyre of the Gypsy. He took off the scarf, climbed the bonnet and attempted to assault the CM," Delhi Police said in its statement.
The AAP, however, alleged that the Delhi Police had planted that the man belonged to the party.
The AAP roadshow was organised from 4 pm to 10 pm in Moti Nagar. It was scheduled to start from Karampura and was to terminate at RK Ashram Marg, it said.
Proper police arrangement from both Security Unit and local police was put in place for the event in consultation with the organizers of the event, it added.
The chief minister arrived at around 5.43 pm at the starting point. He got out of the official vehicle and boarded the open gypsy prepared for the roadshow. As he was meeting and greeting his party workers who had gathered around the gypsy, suddenly a person got on to the bonnet of the vehicle and attempted to assault the chief minister, the statement said.
He was immediately overpowered and saved from the agitated supporters and taken to hospital for medical treatment. The roadshow then started and continued as per the schedule, it said.
During security arrangements at such events, which are put in place in consultation with the organizers, necessary tie-up is made with the organizers so that they ensure that only the persons identified by them are in the reception party or the proximate group or near the vehicle used for the roadshow, police said.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the Delhi Police had planted the man.
"Delhi Police planting that man belonged to AAP, this is really shameful given the fact that the attacker's wife has herself said he was a Modi Bhakt and did not like anyone talking against Modi.
"This is the same Delhi Police which had planted earlier that no 'mirchi attack' happened on the chief minister. It was later when the Delhi government provided CCTV footage to Delhi Police that left its political masters red faced," Bharadwaj said.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
