Chief Minister backs colleagues, warns police

“Delhi Police is highly compromised. If accountability of Delhi Police is not fixed, then crime and rape incidents will never go down,” Kejriwal told reporters, with Bharti seated on one side of him and Birla on the other.

“After a rape takes place, then we demand immediate arrest of the culprits. But that is not sufficient. Why should rapes happen in the first place?”

The chief minister cited two instances that involved Bharti and Birla on Wednesday night.
After allowing his ministers time to voice their concerns, Kejriwal said, “We demand the suspension of the erring SHOs of Sagarpur and Malviya Nagar station. I am meeting the lieutenant governor tomorrow along with the commissioner of police and I will tell them our stand in the strongest words possible.”

Asked if the ministers were not overzealous in their demands considering the police had not conducted an investigation, Kejriwal said, “Police claimed the ministers were interfering with their work. How is this possible? There was proof of a drug racket and police took no action. When you see a crime happening, you tell police and expect them to act. This is what happened. Ms Birla tried to help a dowry harassment victim and Mr Bharti tried to shut down a drug and sex racket.”

Kejriwal said the incidents that Bharti and Birla referred to highlighted how the Delhi Police functioned.

“These two incidents have been an eyeopener for us. Isse pata chalta hain, ki Dilli Police, bhagwan bharose kaam karti hain (God only knows how the Delhi Police works, considering these incidents)”.

Meanwhile, replying to a question from mediapersons about Kejriwal saying the city was not in safe hands, Police Commissioner B S Bassi said “I would like to assure the people of the city that Delhi Police is competent enough to ensure the safety and security of its citizen.”