Police first said CM’S spectacles ‘fell’, then acknowledged attack

NEWDELHI: After issuing an official statement that suggested there was no attack on Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, the Delhi Police changed its statement and acknowledged there was an attempt to attack the chief minister after footage of the incident that was captured by a CCTV camera emerged.

When asked about the discrepancy, the police blamed their own “poor language skills”.

“It appears someone with poor language skills framed the statement in a hurry,” said a senior police officer who asked not to be named.

The Delhi Police registered a case under relevant IPC sections, including assault on public servant and criminal intimidation, and arrested Sharma late Tuesday night. “Though we did not receive any formal complaint from the CM’S secretariat, based on preliminary enquiry, a cognizable offence was made out,” said Rajesh Khurana, joint commissioner of police (central range).

While the alleged attack happened at 2.25 pm, Delhi Police issued their first statement at 4.56 pm. It said that Kejriwal’s spectacles fell when his security officers were trying to remove Sharma, who was trying to touch his feet. “Subsequently, security personnel removed him aside and found him carrying a pouch that tore and apparently contained chilli powder,” the statement had said.

No sooner had the police circulated the message, the CCTV video emerged. It purportedly showed Sharma trying to lunge at Kejriwal after bowing.

Delhi Police then issued a revised statement at 5.23 pm. Keeping with the CCTV footage, it pointed out how the “attempt” to “charge” towards the CM was “swiftly foiled” by security. It maintained Sharma was “found carrying a pouch that tore and apparently contained chilli powder”.