Over 200 workers of AAP, BJP detained during protest in Delhi

New Delhi: Over 200 workers of AAP and BJP were detained on Friday afternoon while they were marching towards each other's offices at Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg here, police said.

"We had already made elaborate arrangements with multi-layered barricades to stop the workers to reach to the party offices. About 150 workers from AAP and 60 from BJP have been detained and taken to separate police stations in buses," an official said said.

The AAP march began soon after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann left the protest site announcing peaceful protest to their party workers. They asked them to stop where the Delhi police stops them.

The BJP's protest was led by its Delhi unit head Virendra Sachdeva.

An official said over 1,000 personnel were deployed around ITO and DDU Marg.

Two companies of paramilitary comprising women staff and personnel from Delhi Police's armed unit were deployed at the DDU Marg with anti-riot gears and baton to control over the protestors, the official said.

The protestors were detained at around 1.45 pm and were taken to separate police stations from where they will be released after a few hours, a police officer said.

Security had been stepped up in central Delhi since morning with multi-layered barricading on several roads leading to the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and deployment of additional personnel in view of demonstrations by the AAP and the BJP.

While the AAP is staging a protest alleging cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the BJP has said its members are protesting near the AAP head office against the "corruption" in the Arvind Kejriwal government.