Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj warned that reducing the operating hours of Durga Puja pandals in Chittaranjan Park (CR Park) could lead to overcrowding and increase the risk of stampedes, urging the Delhi Police to allow organisers to conduct the festivities peacefully, while alleging that the authorities could hold Puja committees responsible in the event of an accident.

In a post on X, Bhardwaj urged the police not to create difficulties for organisers at CR Park, describing the community as peaceful and asking authorities to allow people to celebrate their festival without disruption.

"Delhi Police. Pls don't create problems at CR Park Durga Puja Pandals. They are a very peaceful community and don't want anything from Govt. Let them celebrate their festivals in peace," the AAP leader said on Saturday.

In a video attached to the post, Bhardwaj accused the Delhi Police of troubling the Puja organisers, noting that previously the pandals were allowed to stay open until 12:00 AM, but this year the authorities have mandated the closure of the pandals by 10:00 PM.

"Most people come in the evening because the weather in Delhi is pleasant at that time, and people get free from their jobs and businesses in the evening. Now, for the past two or three days, the Delhi Police has been troubling the organisers of these Durga Puja pandals. They are saying that this time, you are only allowed to keep the loudspeakers and pandals open until 10:00 PM at night. The pandals that used to stay open until 12:00 AM last year, you have cut down the evening window by two hours," he said.

Bhardwaj argued that restricting the timings while expecting lakhs of visitors would concentrate crowds into a shorter period, potentially creating chaos and safety risks.

"Now, within those two hours less, the same lakhs of people have to visit the pandals, so you have increased the crowd and chaos there. You have intentionally created a situation where, God forbid, if a stampede happens here, like in Bengal, who will you register a case against? You will register a case against the puja committee! The police have no responsibility," he said in the video.

He also alleged that police personnel had entered a Puja pandal the previous day and damaged equipment by cutting wires. Bhardwaj appealed to the Delhi government, Lieutenant Governor and Police Commissioner not to disrupt arrangements that had been functioning smoothly.

"Yesterday the police forcefully entered a puja pandal and cut their wires and damaged their equipment. Is this the kind of work police and a government should be doing? I want to tell the Delhi Government, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) sir, and the Police Commissioner sir: please do not do this," he said.

He added, "The way systems have been running smoothly and nicely beforehand, if you cannot improve these systems, then at least do not mess them up; let them run properly."

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South Delhi, rejected allegations that the police were obstructing the festivities, stating that the intervention was aimed at enforcing court-mandated noise pollution rules.

In a post on X, the DCP said organisers at certain venues had continued playing loud music beyond the permitted hours despite agreeing to comply with the rules during earlier meetings.

"Recent claims regarding the CR Park Durga Puja pandal are incorrect. Police intervention is only to ensure compliance with court rules on noise pollution. The organisers kept playing loud music past the permitted time, despite agreeing to the rules in earlier meetings. Delhi Police is committed to safe festivities for all. We urge everyone to cooperate for peaceful and safe festivities," the post said.