The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that its Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar, who has been demanding justice for the family of a sanitation worker who was killed, was picked up by the police and taken to an undisclosed location in the early hours of Tuesday. Anil K The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that its Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar, who has been demanding justice for the family of a sanitation worker who was killed, was picked up by the police and taken to...
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that its Kondli MLA Kuldeep Kumar, who has been demanding justice for the family of a sanitation worker who was killed, was picked up by the police and taken to an undisclosed location in the early hours of Tuesday. Anil Kumar, a 27-year-old Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) contractual worker, was stabbed to death in East Delhi’s Kalyanpuri in the early hours of Sunday morning. Anil’s family also claimed police came to their house and pressured them to cremate the body. AAP Delhi convenor Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote on X that it appeared to be a “repeat of the Hathras incident”. He wrote: “Today, at around 4 am, around 20 policemen in plainclothes came and kidnapped AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar. He had been raising his voice for sanitation workers and demanding compensation for the family. They demanded that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta meet the family, but instead of meeting the protesters, they took MLA Kuldeep Kumar to an undisclosed location.” Anil Kumar's father takes part in a protest over his killing at Lal Bahadur Shastri hospital in Kalyanpuri, New Delhi, on Monday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal) “Police are pressuring the family. to cremate the body now. The police took his body from the mortuary of LBS Hospital to his house. Looks like a repetition of the Hathras forced cremation,” he alleged. Senior police officers did not respond to calls or messages seeking comment. On Monday, Anil’s family began a sit-in protest outside the mortuary at Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) Hospital, refusing to accept the body after the post-mortem as they demanded the arrest of the accused. The family demanded Rs 1 crore compensation and a government job for one of Anil’s family members. AAP workers led by Kuldeep and Bhim Army supporters later joined them. How the crime unfolded According to the police, Anil was standing near a garbage van on Sunday when the attacker approached him and assaulted him with a knife. The incident was captured on CCTV. Police arrested the suspect, identified as Nihal alias Pulla, 52, from Kalyanpuri on Monday afternoon. During questioning, Nihal allegedly told investigators that he had intended to target Anil and the garbage van driver, Gulshan, as he suspected Gulshan and his wife were having an affair. “Nihal claimed he tracked the vehicle early on Sunday. In a fit of rage, he attacked Anil, who often accompanied Gulshan. Officers are trying to recover the knife allegedly used in the crime,” a police officer said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Rajeev Kumar said an FIR was registered after the incident and multiple teams were deployed to trace the suspect. “The accused repeatedly evaded arrest but was taken into custody on Monday,” he said.