Congress’s Lok Sabha candidate from North East Delhi, Kanhaiya Kumar, was attacked on Friday during an election campaign in his constituency.
He was thrashed by a few people who approached him under the pretext of garlanding him. The miscreants also misbehaved with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) woman councillor Chhaya Gaurav Sharma. She filed a police complaint over the incident, which took place near AAP office in Kartar Nagar.
Sharma, in her complaint, alleged that her shawl was snatched away, and her husband was taken aside and threatened. Black ink was thrown at the crowd, and people, including 3-4 women, were injured, the complaint said.
According to police, the attack happened when Kumar came out of the AAP office in Kartar Nagar after a meeting with Councillor Chhaya Sharma.
“After the meeting, when Chhaya Sharma came down to see off Kanhaiya Kumar, some persons came and put a garland around Kanhaiya Kumar. After garlanding him, some persons threw ink on Kanhaiya Kumar and tried to assault him. When Chhaya Sharma tried to intervene, they misbehaved and threatened her,” North East Deputy Commissioner of Police said.
Following the incident, a video purportedly of the attackers is being widely shared on social media, in which two men claim responsibility for the attack.
The men in the video can be heard saying that Kanhaiya Kumar talks about dividing the country, speaks against the Indian Army, and today we have “treated him”.
“But we will not allow those who talk about dividing the country to enter Delhi,” one person on the video asserted. However, India Today could not independently verify the footage.
Kumar, who is the INDIA bloc candidate contesting against BJP’s Manoj Tiwari, said in a statement the attack was ordered by rival contender from the constituency Manoj Tiwari, news agency PTI reported.
He alleged Tiwari, the sitting MP, is “frustrated with his rising popularity” and that is why he sent “goons” to attack him and also added that the public will give its answer to the violence with the vote on May 25.