The arrests were made following the violence that broke out between the workers of the BJP and AAP in Delhi after police detained Arvind Kejriwal during a campaign in Gujarat.
The Delhi police have arrested 14 Aam Aadmi Party workers in connection with the violent clashes, outside the BJP national headquarters in the capital, between supporters of the two political parties that left 28 people injured.
Media reports, including the PTI, said that the Delhi Police lodged an FIR against the AAP protestors, including journalist-turned-politician Ashutosh and Shazia Ilmi, charging them with rioting, inciting violence, damaging public property and obstructing public servants from performing their duty.
The arrested persons will be produced before a local Delhi court on Thursday afternoon. Earlier, the cops had detained 33 persons last evening following the clashes, but later on released 19 of them.
The cops have called the AAP protest 'completely illegal' as no prior permission was sought in this connection by the party. The cops also said that the protests, by a 400-strong AAP contingent, in front of the BJP national headquarters was deliberately engineered with a view to creating chaos and clashes.
The entire unfortunate incident has been videographed and cops said that more arrests in the case are likely after identification of those seen in the video images is complete.
BJP and AAP workers had clashed on Wednesday in Delhi, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jhansi and Allahabad after AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was briefly detained in Gujarat and later his car was damaged.
Large groups of AAP supporters gathered outside BJP offices to protest his detention, although he was subsequently released within 30 minutes of questioning after determining whether he had permission to hold the rally in Gujarat since the model code of conduct had come into force.
The clashes that marked the use of stones and clubs bloodied several people on both sides. Police used water cannons on protesters in Delhi.
"We came in a peaceful manner, we stood outside, they shut the gates. We shouted slogans: 'Have shame Narendra Modi'," claimed AAP activist Shazia Ilmi. "They started throwing stones from inside." The BJP blamed the AAP protesters for inciting violence and attacking its office and workers. The BJP said that its workers retaliated only in self defence.
The election campaign coincides with growing anger among urban Indians over corruption, as well as a sense that the center-left government led by the Congress party has frittered away opportunities for rapid growth.
Modi has emerged in opinion polls as the favorite to head the next government, buoyed by his strong economic track record as chief minister of Gujarat, a west coast state.
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