Delhi gangrape: Pressure grows on top cop to resign

The chorus for the removal of Delhi police commissioner Neeraj Kumar drew a key voice on Sunday. Soon after he was appointed head of the judicial commission that will review sexual assault laws, former chief justice of India JS Verma said Kumar should quit or be sacked.

The chorus for the removal of Delhi Police commissioner Neeraj Kumar drew a key voice on Sunday. Soon after he was appointed head of the judicial commission that will review sexual assault laws, former chief justice of India JS Verma said Kumar should quit or be sacked.

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“Action should have started from the top. I would have expected the Delhi police commissioner to resign by now,” said Verma.

Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had announced the setting up of the commission on Saturday following the protests over the 23-year-old’s gangrape.

“If Kumar does not resign, the central government should give him his marching orders for sheer insensitivity and incompetence, evident from the continuing behaviour of the police towards peaceful protesters,” said the former National Human Rights Commission chairman.

Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, who drove down to Shinde’s house with her cabinet colleagues on Sunday, said the government could not gain people’s confidence as long as “senior officers don’t take responsibility”.

Dikshit also sought cuts in VIP security if necessary, to put adequate police personnel on the roads. "Our plea was to have everything done by tomorrow," she said.

Justice Verma will also look into the gangrape and suggest preventive measures for the future. Former high court chief justice Leila Seth and former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium are other two members of the panel, which is expected to submit its report within a month.