Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the family of the girl who was stabbed several times in west Delhi for protesting harassment
Arvind Kejriwal's summons for Delhi Police Chief BS Bassi today came with a demand that seemed designed to provoke another row over jurisdiction. Mr Bassi, who reports to the union home ministry, was asked by the Chief Minister to bring along four lists for the meeting, say sources.
A list of pending cases of crimes against women and one of beat constables across the city were among them, sources tell NDTV.
Mr Kejriwal called the police chief following the brutal murder last week of a 19-year-old girl, who was stabbed multiple times at a west Delhi area for protesting harassment. The Chief Minister says this incident is an example of police inefficiency and the reason why his government - not the union home ministry - should be in charge of the city police.
Mr Bassi had asserted this morning that his force is accountable to the system, not any individual. "There are provisions in the law, Constitution for us. If we work under them, no one's criticism is justified," he said after meeting with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. Mr Bassi reports directly to Mr Jung, who is the Centre's representative in Delhi, and who has been engaged in an ugly turf war with Mr Kejriwal.
The AAP government believes the teen's murder has bolstered its case for the takeover of Delhi Police. In the area where the girl stayed, officials claim, people had complained to the Chief Minister and his deputy Manish Sisodia about poor policing.
After meeting the girl's family, Mr Kejriwal had said: "I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi with folded hands that the control of the Delhi Police be handed over to us. He has to run the whole country."
The bitterness has amplified in the past month with the arrest of two AAP leaders, including former Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar, who has been accused of faking his law degree. AAP accuses the police of hounding its leaders.
Two Delhi police constables have filed a complaint against the Chief Minister for using the word "thulla," viewed as a derogatory term for cops.