A Delhi-based lawyer on Monday wrote to Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana seeking penal action against Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta for causing inconvenience to the public by obstructing traffic at several spots across the national capital.

“These deliberate and malicious acts of the accused is an offence under section 141, 145, 186, 188, 283, 425, 34 of the IPC and therefore penal action should be taken against Adesh Kumar Gupta, President of Delhi BJP and other known persons who were actively involved in this illegal traffic jam,” Advocate Vineet Jindal wrote.

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The BJP Delhi was protesting against the Arvind Kejriwal-led government’s new excise policy and obstructed traffic in at least 15 spots in the city. The opposition party has alleged that the new policy will encourage opening of liquor shops in every nook and corner of the national capital, giving the city a bad name. The protests were staged at ITO, Chandini Chowk, Akshardham cross mall road, Keshavpuram, Vikas Marg, Civil Lines, Shahadra, Signature Bridge, Karol Bagh, South and South West Delhi, among other locations.

Jindal told IANS that the traffic jam caused massive inconvenience to the commuters and even he was himself stuck in the jam near Azadpur in north west Delhi for more than 2 hours.

Pertinently, no effort was made by Delhi BJP to inform the residents about where they were going to protest and organise chakka jam, he said.

“The act of Delhi BJP is also an offence to obstruct the public servant in performing their duty by causing obstruction in traffic even after several requests by the traffic police officers to stop their protest,” the letter to the Delhi Police chief read.

Jindal, in his letter, also pointed out that the members of Delhi BJP “wilfully disobeyed” the guidelines issued by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority in wake of Omicron variant of novel coronavirus. Notably, as per DDMA guidelines, no social gathering or rally is allowed in these pandemic times. Since the introduction of the new excise policy, the BJP has been protesting against the Kejriwal-led government.

Under this policy, nearly 850 liquor shops are supposed to open up across the city as the state government made an exit from the liquor business.Reacting to Monday’s protests, Sisodia tweeted: “BJP is furious over the implementation of the new excise policy because Kejriwal government has put a stoppage to the theft to Rs 35,000 crore in Delhi. This money is now being received by the government which will use it for the benefit of masses, earlier this money used to go to the pockets of BJP leaders and liquor mafia.”