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Graft survey: Delhi Police commissioner takes dig at CM Kejriwal
Police commissioner BS Bassi on Wednesday countered chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s accusation that the Delhi Police was the most corrupt department in the national capital, saying a recent survey was “flattering” for the force.
Police commissioner BS Bassi on Wednesday countered chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s accusation that the Delhi Police was the most corrupt department in the national capital, saying a recent survey was “flattering” for the force.
Bassi offered to help Kejriwal understand the findings of the survey, which the chief minister had cited on Tuesday while reiterating his demand that control of the Delhi Police should be transferred from the Union home ministry to the Delhi government.
The survey carried out by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) and Transparency International said most people felt corruption was the highest in the Delhi Police.
Bassi offered a different take on the survey’s findings. “The survey reveals that in 2012, 80% of the people in Delhi said they have experienced corruption in dealing with police officials. That rate has dropped to 34% in 2015,” he told the media on the sidelines of the Police Commemoration Day parade.
“Similarly, the perception that police officials are corrupt has dropped from 56% in 2012 to 49% in 2015.” The survey’s findings, he said, are “flattering” for the Delhi Police and had “doubled the force’s enthusiasm”.
Read | Delhiites paid Rs 240 crore as bribe in past year, says study
Taking a dig at Kejriwal, Bassi said, “After reading the survey thoroughly, I can go for a one-on-one debate with anybody regarding its results. If the honourable chief minister allows, I can help him understand those findings.”
Kejriwal had on Tuesday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop being “stubborn” and hand over control of the Delhi Police and the Anti-Corruption Branch to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.
The AAP and the BJP government at the Centre have been engaged in a long-running war of words over control of the Delhi Police. Kejriwal renewed his demand for control of the force after the gang-rape of two minor girls last week.
Bassi had earlier responded to Kejriwal’s accusations of corruption in his force by offering a reward of Rs 25,000 to anyone who provides “actionable” evidence against police personnel involved in corrupt practices.
(With inputs from agencies)
