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‘Someone could even throw acid at CM’: Sisodia hits out at Delhi Police for chilli powder attack on Kejriwal
Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia questioned if any “kingpins” were held by the police in the previous cases of violence against chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. He said that instead, the police have been unjustly targeting AAP’s ministers and MLAs and arresting them in “bogus cases”.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday blamed the Delhi Police for the repeated lapses in ensuring the safety of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who, earlier in the day, was attacked with chilli powder by a man at the Secretariat — the building in which the CM, his cabinet colleagues and top bureaucrats work.
Sisodia questioned if any “kingpins” were held by the police in the previous cases of violence against Kejriwal. He said that instead, the police have been unjustly targeting AAP’s ministers and MLAs and arresting them in “bogus cases”.
Sisodia added that the attacks have become so common that someone could even throw acid or an explosive at the CM and other AAP MLAs. Police in the national capital do not work under the elected government of Delhi and are controlled by the Union ministry of home affairs through the Lieutenant-Governor, he said.
Calling the incident “yet another conspiracy” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the election season, AAP leader Gopal Rai announced that the party would stage a protest in front of the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg on Wednesday.
The Delhi government came down heavily on the police for initially stating that the accused did not intend to injure the CM. However, later, in a CCTV footage released by the government, the man can be seen stretching out his hand to touch Kejriwal’s face immediately after touching his feet.
The government questioned how the police could allow a man to enter the Secretariat — a high security zone — with a packet of chilli powder and matchbox.
“The security of the Secretariat is the responsibility of the Delhi Police. It is surprising how a man was allowed to stand outside the CM’s office on the third floor where even reporters are not allowed there. How did the accused manage to be there right when the CM was leaving his office?” Sisodia said at a press conference.
The deputy CM lashed out at the police saying this is the third time that either the CM or a minister has been attacked at the Secretariat.
“Before this, a person hurled a shoe at Kejriwal while he was holding a press conference at the media centre, which is also part of this ‘high-security’ Secretariat,” he said, adding that the general administration department (GAD) has been directed to conduct an inquiry at its level.
In February this year, environment minister Imran Hussain and former AAP member Ashish Khetan were allegedly manhandled by unidentified persons in the same building.
“Until now, at least four attacks have happened on CM Kejriwal alone. Has any arrest been made by the police in those cases till now? Has any kingpin been held? Any chargesheet filed?” the deputy CM said.
In January, 2016, ink was thrown on the CM during an ‘odd-even thanksgiving’ event at the Chhatrasal Stadium. On November 4 this year, bottles were thrown when Kejriwal was giving a speech at the inauguration of Signature Bridge.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj alleged that the attacker had links with the BJP. “The attacker is associated with a BJP neta from Naraina. Thank God we got CCTV footage of the incident. Had we relied on the Delhi Police, then the attacker would have gone scot-free as the police say the chilli powder packet accidentally fell from his pocket while he was being taken aside,” he said.
Bhardwaj also said the BJP-ruled central government has created an atmosphere wherein anti-social elements are being “instigated and promoted” to attack CM Kejriwal.
Raghav Chadha, AAP’s spokesperson and its Lok Sabha in-charge from South Delhi, called the police’s version of the attack “absolute rubbish”.
“An eyewitness to the incident has deposed that the CM was attacked. Instead of investigating the matter, the Delhi Police is shrugging off all responsibility. The CCTV footage bears out the complete truth,” he said.
