Journalism of Courage
How many times was a child called near Congress leader Rahul Gandhi? How many times did he walk ahead to talk with unknown persons during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the national Capital last week? – These are some of the key instances given by Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora’s office to all DCPs before asking to submit their observations on security violations during the Delhi leg of the yatra, especially those by Gandhi and Congress party workers.
Rahul Gandhi enjoys Z-plus category security cover of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and at public interface events, the security unit makes one D-circle for the protectee. Security personnel never allow anyone to enter the D-circle. On December 28, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging significant security breaches in the Bharat Jodo Yatra in the national Capital and blamed the Delhi Police for failing “to maintain a perimeter around Gandhi”.
Hours after the Bharat Jodo Yatra’s Delhi leg ended Saturday, Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora called the special commissioners (law and order, southern and northern zones), special CP (security), two concerned joint commissioners of police (JCP) and their four deputy commissioners (DCP) along with the team of special branch, to praise their handling of the yatra. “The meeting was held in the office of the DCP (New Delhi), which lasted for around 45 minutes and he appreciated two officers more for their negotiations,” a senior police officer said.
On Wednesday, the police chief’s office asked all senior officers to submit their observations on security violations before preparing their responses to the Congress’s allegations on Rahul Gandhi’s security. “They were asked specifically to write on the basis of their observations, especially about the violations made by the protectee Rahul Gandhi, his office, his workers and other party leaders. They were asked to mention the violations which they felt compromised his security,” an officer said.
“His (police chief’s) office also gave examples of violations, like calling a child near him or meeting some unknown persons after going forward. All the officers were asked to discuss these instances with their subordinates, videography teams and send their observation report to the office of Special CP (security),” the officer added. All officers were also asked to inform about the security arrangements made by them, the officer said.
Delhi Police spokesperson Kumar Gyanesh declined to comment on the Congress allegation.
A senior Delhi Police officer said, “As per the arrangements made by us, there were no lapses or issues. There was overcrowding, yet we managed it for the entire Delhi yatra. The security of Rahul and Sonia Gandhi was under the CRPF. We don’t look into it. The arrangements made for security and for traffic were planned and executed perfectly.”
