‘Not surprising’: Akali MP Naresh Gujral alleges police inaction over Delhi violence

Rajya Sabha MP and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral on Thursday wrote a letter to Delhi Police chief alleging police inaction when he sought help for acquaintances from violence-hit Maujpur in north-east Delhi.

In the letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, a copy of which has been sent to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the home secretary, Gujral said he received a call for help from an acquaintance who was trapped along with 15 others near Gonda Chowk in Maujpur at around 11:30 pm on Wednesday night.

The MP complained that though he made calls to the police control room helpline number and shared the contact number of his acquaintances with the police officer, no action was taken despite the “urgency of the situation”.

“...However, much to my disappointment, no action was taken on my complaint and those 16 individuals received no assistance whatsoever from the Delhi Police,” Gujral said in the letter.

The Akali Dal leader who is the son of former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, said that the family was eventually helped by their neighbours.

Expressing disappointment at the police inaction, he said, “If this is the situation when a Member of Parliament makes a complaint personally, it is not surprising that certain parts of Delhi continue to burn while the police stands by apathetically.”

At least 38 people have died and over 200 injured since Sunday in violent clashes between anti and pro-citizenship amendment act groups in Delhi’s north-east district. There have been incidents of stone-pelting, arson and firing during these clashes.

An official release from the police commissioner’s office on Thursday said all the FIRs related to the three-day-long rioting in northeast Delhi, registered at different police stations in the area, were being transferred to the two SITs. 48 FIRs have been registered in the riot cases so far.