NEW DELHI: Expressing displeasure over the “failure” of the police, the Delhi High Court asked the city police chief to look into the lapses that resulted in the vandalism at the CM’s residence and to fix responsibility for the “serious lapse”.
It also sought a status report within two weeks regarding the findings of security arrangement at the CM’s residence. On March 30, protesters belonging to the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) had allegedly breached the barricades to reach the entrance of the CM’s residence and destroyed public property in the presence of police.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said it was clear that there was a ‘failure’ on the part of the police and that the security arrangement was inadequate. “The bandobast made outside the residence of the CM and the road leading to the residence, in the wake of the permission sought on behalf of Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha which was declined, was not adequate,’ said the bench.
The court made the remarks while hearing a plea by AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj about the attack during a protest against Kejriwal’s remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’, The bench took note of the status report filed by the police on the incident which said certain miscreants breached the barricades and reached the gate of the residence. ‘‘In our view, the aforesaid lapse is a serious lapse and should be looked at by the Commissioner of Police.”
‘‘This kind of incident happening at the residence of any constitutional functionary ‘ whether it is the CM, it could be a judge of the high court or Supreme Court, it could be any other Union Minister.. this is a very disturbing state of affairs that this kind of a thing could in the first place occur or such miscreants should succeed,” it said. Wondering how could the protesters breach three layers of barricades, the court said, the police should look at its functioning. “We want the Commissioner of Police to look into the lapses,” the high court said.