Sultanpuri accident: 12 AAP MLAs meet top cop, demand outer district’s DCP be removed

A delegation of twelve Aam Aadmi Party legislators met Delhi Police commissioner Sanjay Arora on Tuesday, raising issues related to the alleged lapse by police in the gruesome Sultanpuri accident case, and submitted a memorandum with five demands, including the removal of deputy commissioner of police (outer) Harendra K Singh.

Police have said that five men in a grey Maruti Suzuki Baleno hit Anjali Kumari, 20, while she was riding her scooty in the early hours of January 1. The impact entangled her body to the underside of the car but the accused drove on, dragging her body for at least 14km before it dislodged in a mangled state.

On Tuesday, the AAP delegation, led by AAP chief spokesperson and Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj along with Kalkaji MLA Atishi, also called for the dismissal of all policemen posted along the route taken by the accused, and the sacking of the officer who lodged the first information report (FIR) under minor sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The memorandum urges the commissioner to consider the crime under the ‘rarest of rare’ category, and to carry out a fair probe in the matter without any political pressure. “Whole Delhi has been shamed due to the barbarity that occurred with the daughter of Delhi on the new year’s first day. The people of Delhi are enraged and being the representatives of people of Delhi, we are presenting these demands before you,” the letter states.

The memorandum alleges that the accused in the case were being shielded by the DCP. “According to media reports, the accused in this incident have political clout, Delhi Police should take the strictest action against the accused without coming under political pressure,” it concludes.

The Delhi Police did not respond to requests for comments on the allegations.

AAP’s Atishi alleged that the Delhi Police are leaving no stone unturned in protecting the accused because they are Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers. “It seems that the entire police department from top to bottom is trying to save the accused despite the gruesomeness of the crime. Along with the accused, strict action should also be taken against the police officers who weakened the case so that police personnel also fear that strict action can be taken against them if they do not maintain law and order. The police commissioner has told us that after his investigation, action will be taken against the guilty police officers,” she said.

Bhardwaj claimed that the Delhi Police took much longer to PCR calls regarding the incident. “A person called me yesterday (Monday) and said his brother made a call to the PCR, regarding this incident at 2.18am. He said that five minutes later, he received a call back, in which he was informed that a message had been flashed to all the PCRs and the check posts in the area… Today, when we confronted the Delhi Police commissioner with this piece of information, and asked him if a call had been made to the PCR before the time the Delhi Police has claimed it received the first call, he did not give me a definite answer on this matter,” Bhardwaj said.

The Greater Kailash MLA also alleged that DCP Singh has called up journalists and forced them to take down their tweets regarding the incident. “Why were journalists threatened for asking if this could be a case of rape and murder? We have also heard that a journalist was also detained by the police in this matter and actually spent a night in jail, only for doing his job of asking police questions on this matter. The commissioner told us that he would look into this matter as well and take action,” he said.