Parvesh Verma slaps man during road inspection in Delhi’s Tilak Nagar
Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma was caught on camera slapping a young man during a road inspection in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar on Sunday. The incident took place amid a heated argument between Verma and AAP MLA Jarnail Singh over the quality of road construction in the area.
A video of the incident shows Verma pulling down the mobile phone of the man, identified as Sahib Singh, before slapping him. Singh was reportedly recording the exchange between Verma and Jarnail Singh.
After being slapped, Singh appears to confront the minister, following which a security guard steps in and separates the two as people gather around them.
Argument over road quality
The incident happened while Verma was inspecting a newly constructed road in the Tilak Nagar Assembly constituency. During the inspection, Verma and Jarnail Singh were seen arguing over the quality of the road and trading allegations over its construction.
At one point, Jarnail Singh pulled up parts of the newly laid road with his hand and showed the pieces to the minister.
“Ye lo, mantri ji aap humse poocho, bura manne ki baat nahi hai isme. Ye BJP ki Sarkar mein ho raha hai kaam. Hamari video delete karwa rahe ho,” the AAP MLA said.
He then told Verma, “Aapne jo sadak boli woh ukhad ke dikha di, ab batao.”
Verma, who was standing beside him, replied, “Galat nahi bolna.”
When Singh asked what he had said wrong, Verma responded, “Bilkul galat bola. Aapne 15 saal mein sadak nahi banayi, ab hum bana rahe hain.”
Singh then hit back, saying, “Aise mat banao na, ye toh 15 ghante nahi chalegi.”
Verma then started walking away while Singh followed him holding pieces of the road. Sahib Singh continued recording the exchange on his phone.
Man alleges phone was snatched before slap
The video shows Verma turning towards Sahib Singh, pulling down his phone and slapping him across the face.
A voice can be heard saying, “Oye maar kaise raha hai?”
Another person in the crowd says, “Are maar diya thappad, bhai.”
A brief physical confrontation then appears to take place between Singh and Verma before a security guard intervenes.
Sahib Singh later told news agency ANI that he was live-streaming the conversation between Verma and Jarnail Singh on the MLA’s social media page when the incident happened.
“At that time, I was live-streaming on the MLA’s page. To stop the ongoing live stream, Parvesh Verma snatched the phone from my hand, raised his hand at me and slapped me,” Singh said.
He also alleged that security personnel accompanying the minister pushed and threatened him. Singh said he had filed a police complaint and provided the names of those involved.
Verma gives his side
After the incident, Parvesh Verma posted a video on X explaining his version of events.
“Aaj ki ghatna ke peeche ki poori sacchai suniye…lekin jo hua woh nahi hona chahiye tha,” he said.
Verma claimed that Jarnail Singh had arrived at the location with his workers and that one of them abused his family members. He said he reacted in anger after the alleged abuse.
“Jarnail Singh arrived with his workers and immediately started misbehaving. One of his workers began hurling abuses at my family right upon arrival. In that moment of anger, anyone would react the same way I did,” Verma said.
AAP seeks action against minister
AAP MLA Jarnail Singh shared the video of the incident on X and accused Verma of losing his temper during the road inspection.
AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also shared the video and demanded action against the minister.
“A minister in Modi ji’s government publicly slapped a young man for highlighting corruption in road construction… Arrest this minister. I will visit Tilak Nagar tomorrow to inspect this road,” Kejriwal said.
Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj also accused Verma of slapping the cameraman and criticised the incident.