New Delhi [India], August 18 : The Delhi High Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a habeas corpus petition challenging the alleged detention of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kuldeep Kumar by Delhi Police.
The matter was mentioned for urgent hearing by senior advocate Shadan Farasat before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, who agreed to take up the plea today.
The petition comes amid allegations by the AAP that Kumar was taken away by police early Tuesday morning while he was supporting sanitation workers protesting over the death of a sanitation worker.
AAP Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that around 20 policemen in plain clothes arrived at about 4 am and "picked up" Kumar, who represents East Delhi.
Bharadwaj claimed that Kumar had been supporting sanitation workers demanding compensation for the family of the deceased worker and had urged Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to meet the protesters. He alleged that Kumar was instead taken to an undisclosed location.
The AAP leader also alleged that police were pressing the family of the deceased sanitation worker to proceed with the cremation.
According to Bharadwaj, the deceased worker, identified as Anil, was allegedly killed while on duty in Kalyanpuri.
He further alleged that thousands of sanitation workers had been protesting for the past two days, demanding Rs 1 crore compensation for Anil's family and a permanent government job for a family member.
Hundreds of sanitation workers and auto-tipper drivers had gathered at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital following Anil's death and had opposed the removal of his body from the mortuary for the last rites, according to the AAP.
Bharadwaj alleged that police brought the body from the hospital to the family's home despite the protesters' objections. The Delhi Police had not immediately responded to the allegations.
The habeas corpus plea seeks the court's intervention over the alleged detention of the MLA and is expected to be taken up by the High Court during the day.