BJP asked Delhi Police to 'torture' us for exposing MCD corruption: AAP

Four AAP MLAs, who were booked for indulging in violence, on Thursday alleged that the BJP had instructed Delhi Police to "torture" them and to file an FIR against them as they were exposing corruption in the municipal corporations.

Nine police personnel, including an ACP, were injured when a protest by around 2,000 sanitation staffers had turned violent on Wednesday, an official said.

The workers were protesting the SDMC's reported proposal to privatise sanitation work in Delhi, and the police filed a case against four AAP MLAs who participated in the stir.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Sanjay Bhatia said the protesters blocked the road and attacked police personnel when they tried to stop them.

AAP MLAs Rakhi Birla, Kuldeep Kumar, Akhilesh Tripathi and Rohit Kumar and some volunteers had joined the sanitation workers in their protest outside the Civic Centre against a bill to reportedly privatise sanitation work.

Addressing a press conference, Tripathi claimed they were holding a peaceful protest and the registration of an FIR was a "tactic" of the BJP to scare them.

"The BJP instructed the Delhi Police to torture us and to file FIR to scare us because we were exposing the BJP's anti-Dalit mindset and corruption in MCDs," he said.

Kumar said the AAP will not be scared by such intimidation and will always protest against anti-Dalit laws and the mindset of the BJP.

Mehraulia and Birla claimed that during Wednesday's protest, male officers of Delhi Police manhandled the women protestors of AAP and sanitation workers and said the BJP should be "ashamed".