Saurabh Bharadwaj, the AAP Delhi president, lodged a formal complaint with the Delhi Lieutenant Governor and Police Commissioner on Tuesday after a 30‑foot cockroach effigy was set ablaze at the Shri Keshav Ramlila Committee’s event in Pitampura's DDA ground.
The effigy, positioned beside traditional Ramlila figures of Ravan, Kumbhakaran, and Meghnad, was intended by organisers to highlight unhygienic conditions but was seen by Bharadwaj as an affront to religious sentiment.
Kapil Mishra, a Delhi minister and committee member who attended as the chief guest, rebuffed the complaint, calling the offended party "termites" and accusing conspirators of undermining national unity.
Bharadwaj demands that the police register an FIR, and he has also requested the removal of all photographs, videos, and promotional material related to the effigy from both traditional media and social platforms.
Should the police fail to act, Bharadwaj has warned that he will approach the court to secure an order for the removal of the material and to pursue further legal action against the organisers.
A Pitampura resident who watched the effigy ignite described the scene as "unsettling" and said he signed Bharadwaj’s complaint, hoping the incident would not repeat.