Glass shards found on Kanwar Yatra route; e-rickshaw driver held

The Delhi police on Sunday detained an e-rickshaw driver after shards of glass were found scattered on a road along the Kanwar Yatra route in north-east Delhi’s Shahdara, raising concern over the safety of the pilgrims walking barefoot.

“A case was registered based on a complaint filed by a junior engineer of the Public Works Department,” said the police.

Sources said that, after examining CCTV footage, the police found that an e-rickshaw carrying glass panels had passed through the area.

“The e-rickshaw, which was carrying a total of 19 glass panels from Shalimar Garden, Uttar Pradesh, to north-east Delhi’s Seelampur, has been identified. The glasses broke during the journey to the destination. The driver has been identified and detained for further questioning,” the police said.

Following the incident, police personnel were deployed in the area for the Kanwar Yatra, which is a 12-day pilgrimage carried out by Lord Shiva devotees.

The incident came to light after Delhi Cabinet Minister Kapil Mishra took to social media, assuring stringent action against the perpetrator.

In an X post, he informed that PWD and corporation employees have cleared the road in the presence of Shahdara MLA Sanjay Goyal.

Terming the incident “extremely unfortunate”, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “While the Delhi government is making excellent arrangements for the service of pilgrims, some people are attempting to disrupt peace in the name of religious politics.”