Two days after BJP youth wing leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga’s arrest led to a tussle between the police forces of three states and a face-off between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the political war of words continued on Sunday as AAP MLA Atishi accused the Delhi Police of “shielding BJP thugs and criminals” while ignoring rising crime in the national capital. Delhi Police maintained that it continues to be a “professional force” as it issued a point-wise rebuttal to AAP’s charges and noted that Delhi has seen a 12% reduction in murders over the last two years.
The saffron party called Atishi’s allegations baseless, saying ]the crime rate in the Capital is among the lowest due to the “good patrolling by Delhi Police”, even as Bagga thanked the Punjab and Haryana high court and the National Minorities Commission for their intervention in his case.
Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Atishi referred to recent incidents of crime, including firing by unidentified persons in Subhash Nagar on Saturday evening. “Three people opened fire at several passengers in a car in Subhash Nagar at 7.30pm at a prominent market in the Capital. These three unidentified criminals brought a gun and took their aim right in the middle of heavy traffic on a busy street, and fired at the innocent passengers in the car. Till now Delhi Police has not taken any action against any of the three perpetrators. No criminal is afraid of Delhi Police these days. It is because they are well aware that the Delhi Police is busy doing BJP’s bidding, in protecting the hooligans and criminals that the BJP is harbouring,” Atishi said.
Delhi Police said it has already arrested one person, who allegedly provided the scooter used by the accused in the crime, and are on the lookout for two other suspects. While the AAP leader also pointed to three other crimes, including cases of stabbing, the Delhi Police said that they have already arrested the suspects in the cases. The police statement claimed there was 12% reduction in murder cases, 60% drop in snatching and 74% increase in arrests in cases of grievous injuries. “As per latest crime data, Delhi has the best conviction rate of IPC crimes (85%) compared to all-India average of 59%. In rape cases, Delhi’s conviction rate is 21% better than all-India average,” said the police statement.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi Police said it has already arrested one person, who allegedly provided the scooter used by the accused in the crime, and are on the lookout for two other suspects. While the AAP leader also pointed to three other crimes, including cases of stabbing, the Delhi Police said that they have already arrested the suspects in the cases. The police statement claimed there was 12% reduction in murder cases, 60% drop in snatching and 74% increase in arrests in cases of grievous injuries. “As per latest crime data, Delhi has the best conviction rate of IPC crimes (85%) compared to all-India average of 59%. In rape cases, Delhi’s conviction rate is 21% better than all-India average,” said the police statement.
{{/usCountry}}In an apparent reference to the inter-state tussle, senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram tweeted, “This was bound to happen some day. Punjab, Delhi and Haryana police confrontation is an example of what lies in store in the future. Police serving their respective political masters will lead to the ultimate breakdown of federalism that is already in peril.”
Bagga was arrested by Punjab Police from his home in Janakpuri on Friday, after which their convoy was stopped by Haryana Police in Kurukshetra. The Punjab Police personnel and Bagga were then taken to a station nearby, from where the Delhi Police took custody of the BJP leader, acting on a kidnapping complaint filed by the politician’s father hours earlier. While a court in Mohali reissued an arrest warrant against Bagga on Saturday, the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the arrest till May 10.
Bagga on Sunday thanked the Punjab and Haryana high court and the National Commission for Minorities for their intervention.
“I believe in the country’s judicial system and I am thankful to the Punjab and Haryana high court and the minority commission who have once again shown that the law still works in the country,” said Bagga.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said Atishi levelled “baseless allegations” against the Delhi Police and alleged that the AAP was misusing Punjab Police against their political opponents. “The world over, from New York to Moscow and London, Mumbai to Delhi, crimes do occur but we should note that the crime detection rate of Delhi Police is one of the best. Moreover, keeping in view that Delhi has a population of over two crore [20 million], the crime rate too is quite low due to good patrolling by Delhi Police,” said Kapoor.