Senior police officers, on condition of anonymity, said that the blame for last night's incident partly also goes to Kejriwal himself, as he refused to leave the location when the crowd of protesters began to swell up.
Kejriwal, who has been subject to protests and assaults on many occasions earlier too, including in Delhi, told his supporters and the local police last night that he would not leave the spot of protest and instead offered to give flowers to the protesters.
Till late hours last night, senior police officers discussed the situation among themselves and also with the AAP functionaries, who said that they would not escape from such protesters as they were coming across such people on a regular basis.
While AAP leaders alleged involvement of BJP workers in the incident, the saffron party distanced itself from the episode. AAP leaders claimed that this showed the frustration with in BJP ranks over Kejriwal's growing popularity.
In a counter attack, local BJP leaders said it was the AAP and Kejriwal which was fond of controversies.
The incident took place last night when Kejriwal stopped at a famous paan shop near Benaras Hindu University after returning from campaigning in nearby villages.
As Kejriwal was chatting with people near the paan shop, a crowd gathered and started shouting pro-Modi slogans.
The protesters turned aggressive but no harm was caused to Kejriwal, as police reached the spot soon and intervened to disperse the crowd, police said, adding Kejriwal was whisked away by the police from the scene.
According to police, there were around 500 to 600 people in the crowd but there was no lathicharge. However, some locals claimed that there was a lathicharge conducted by the police.
Police later filed complaints against "unidentified" people for the incident, while a few protesters were also questioned.
Later in the night, City SP Rahul Raj came to the place where Kejriwal has been staying to inquire about the incident.
He also asked AAP functionaries to ensure that they inform police about Kejriwal's itinerary to avoid a repeat of such incidents.
