The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) directly blamed the BJP government for the tragic death of a young biker after falling into a pit dug on the road in Janakpuri. Drawing parallels with last month’s Noida incident, in which a software engineer died after falling into a drain, the AAP said the biker remained lying in the pit overnight and died after prolonged suffering.
The party said that despite the family contacting several police stations across Delhi, no help was provided, and launched a scathing attack on the BJP, describing it as a complete failure of governance.
Addressing X, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said: “This was not an accident; it was a murder. The BJP has learned nothing even from the Noida incident. Gross negligence and a completely irresponsible approach have now become the defining characteristic of BJP governments, and it is the common people who are paying the price. May God give strength to the family who lost their child due to the government’s negligence.”
Addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters on Friday, Delhi state president Saurabh Bhardwaj said the Janakpuri incident should be seen in the context of the recent Noida case. He said, “A few days ago, due to the negligence of the administration and the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh government, an engineer died tragically in Noida.”
Drawing a parallel, AAP’s Delhi unit chief said that a similar incident has now happened in Delhi, where a bike rider died after falling into a pit dug on the road in Minister Ashish Sood’s Janakpuri assembly constituency. Describing the incident as extremely sad, he commented, “Both the minister’s hoardings and road potholes are well-known in Ashish Sood’s constituency.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj further said that on Friday night a 25-year-old youth was found fallen under one of these hoardings. He told that the youth was working in HDFC Rohini call centre.
AAP’s Delhi state president said, “The pit was present for some time and RWAs had repeatedly demanded that it be closed. However, BJP’s ‘lying minister’ Ashish Sood reached there on Friday morning only to make excuses. At such a time, he should have said that a fair investigation will be conducted. Instead, he said that he has already conducted the investigation himself.”
Pointing out the apparent conflict of interest, Saurabh Bhardwaj said that Ashish Sood is the minister of the concerned department. He said, “The administrative department of Delhi Jal Board is urban development and Ashish Sood is its minister. Later he said that the chief engineer will form a committee to investigate.”
He further added, “But when the minister had already announced that everything was in order, it meant that the boy himself must have been ‘mad’ to jump into the pit with his bike and die.”
AAP’s Delhi unit chief said the government’s response was like the Noida case, where it was claimed that the victim was drunk and drove his car into a pit, giving the administration an opportunity to shirk responsibility. “Now, here also an attempt is being made to prove that the boy himself jumped into the pit with his bike, as if he had removed all the barricades and decided to jump,” he said.
He said neighbors and friends of the victim searched for him throughout the night. “They said that barricades and curtains were put up only after the police arrived in the morning. At night, there was nothing like that, only one side was covered and the other was left open,” said Saurabh Bhardwaj, calling it the height of shamelessness that minister Ashish Sood, who visited the site, had already given a clean chit to the department and also claimed that an investigation would be conducted.
Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the allegations against Police Commissioner Satish Golcha and his department are even more serious. He said, “On Thursday, Delhi Police threatened action against those spreading ‘rumours’, but said AAP is not afraid of such warnings. He said Delhi Police had claimed in a press release that it also files false missing complaints, which is why the numbers appear higher.”
However, Saurabh Bhardwaj highlighted that the biker’s friends said that 25-year-old Kamal left his Rohini call center at 11:53 pm and reached Janakpuri, after which he called home and said he would reach within 15 minutes, indicating that his residence was nearby.
“When he did not turn up even after half an hour, the family became worried. His elderly father, brother and friends went to police stations looking for him, but no complaint was filed. His friends said they went to six different police stations during the night, but no FIR was registered. They went to Rohini, Palam, Sagarpur, Mangolpuri, Dabri and Janakpuri police stations, but were told that reports would be filed later at 11:00 am. Will go.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj said that this shows the shamelessness of the police force which was patting itself on the back on Thursday. He said that the police’s argument that ‘this happens every year’ is even more shameful.
He further said, “If so many minor girls go missing every year, it means the police were as incompetent last year as they are this year. Despite visiting six police stations, no report was filed. If a report was filed, the police should show it, because the victim’s family says no report was filed.”
The senior AAP leader said that the revelation made by the victim’s friends is extremely worrying. According to him, around seven people, including the victim’s father, brother and five friends, kept searching the Janakpuri District Center area after the police told them that Kamal’s last known location was there.
He said, “The police had shared a location with them but later removed it immediately. The police had the location because the victim’s phone was ringing. It is possible that he was still alive at that time. It is unlikely that someone would die immediately after falling into such a pit. He may have fallen, but his death is likely to have occurred several hours later.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj said that seven members of the family searched the area and said that they saw the pit at around 1 am, but neither Kamal nor his bike were there at that time. He said, “This raises a serious question for Police Commissioner Satish Golcha: When the parents and friends were searching throughout the night, Kamal was not there, yet in the morning they were told that he was found in the same pit.”
He questioned why CCTV footage has not surfaced till now. Referring to the Noida case, Saurabh Bhardwaj said that when a young man drowned there, the police tried to prove that he had consumed alcohol by extracting CCTV footage from a restaurant. “CCTV footage of a dead person was found there, but no footage has been released yet,” he said. He said the police were withholding the footage to hide the fact that there was no barricade.
Saurabh Bhardwaj said AAP demands that Union Home Minister Amit Shah ensure that CCTV footage of all PWD roads and traffic crossings, which are otherwise used for issuing challans, is immediately made public.
He questioned what the police were trying to hide, and asserted, “The demand is that CCTV footage of the area be released immediately so that the truth comes out. If that is not being done, it clearly indicates that something is being hidden.”
He also questioned BJP Minister Ashish Sood and told that this site in Janakpuri is located very close to his residence. He asked whether Ashish Sood or his family did not see such a big crater just 100 or 200 meters away. Saurabh Bhardwaj said that as the Urban Development Minister, Delhi Jal Board comes under Ashish Sood.
“They have put up hoardings everywhere, but did not pay attention to the pothole,” he said. He said that Ashish Sood will have to explain why he reached the site only to engage in damage control.
Saurabh Bhardwaj further demanded that Delhi Police explain why a missing person’s report was not filed despite the victim’s family visiting six police stations, while Police Commissioner Satish Golcha had certified a day earlier that Delhi Police files all missing reports immediately.
Saurabh Bhardwaj asked, “If the claim is true then why was the victim’s report not filed on Thursday itself? Why is there no CCTV footage and why was the location deleted?” These are the questions that AAP has asked the BJP government and Delhi Police and Saurabh Bhardwaj said that these should be answered.
