War of words between Delhi govt, police intensifies

Delhi chief secretary PK Tripathi on Wednesday said the police had no authority to comment on the functioning of officers who are not under its jurisdiction. Darpan Singh reports.

The ongoing war of words between the Delhi government and police has further intensified.

HT Image

Delhi chief secretary PK Tripathi on Wednesday said the police had no authority to comment on the functioning of officers who are not under its jurisdiction.

After sub-divisional magistrate Usha Chaturvedi accused some police officers of pressuring her into recording the statement of the 23-year-old gangrape survivor in a particular way, Dikshit requested the Union ministry of home affairs to probe the matter. As the ministry began a probe, police commissioner Neeraj Kumar on Tuesday refuted Chaturvedi's allegations and said the police had had issues with her earlier as well.

After a cabinet meeting to discuss the differences between the Delhi government and the police on Wednesday, Tripathi said the Chaturvedi did not report to police. The gangrape survivor's statement has since been recorded a second time.

Delhi divisional commissioner Dharampal said, "Chaturvedi has said the police gave her a questionnaire for recording the statement which the officer refused. She wanted to record the woman's statement on camera which was not acceptable to the police."

The police commissioner on Tuesday said no questionnaire had been given and Chaturvedi could have refused to record the statement if at any point she felt pressure.

"The woman has undergone so much physical and mental torture and her writing abilities have suffered. It's difficult to explain her 'yes-no' without recording her entire body language on camera... It's unfortunate the police have brought this matter in the media," Dharampal said.