Chilli powder thrown at Delhi CM in secretariat
AAP slams cops over security lapses; More attacks possible on party leaders, says Sisodia
NEW DELHI: A west Delhi resident allegedly tried to throw chilli powder at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal outside his office at the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon — an incident for which the Delhi government blamed the police for failing to protect the CM.
The man was restrained before he could smear the powder on Kejriwal’s face even as the CM’S spectacles broke in the melee. The incident was captured on CCTV camera. Police identified the man as Anil Kumar Sharma, 40, an employee of a private firm who went to meet the CM saying he wanted to seek financial assistance for the treatment of his ailing mother. They said they would register an FIR against him after a “formal complaint” from the government, which said it was “exploring all legal options”.
In the first official statement issued immediately after the attack, the police did not mention any attack on the CM. They said the CM’S spectacles fell when his security tried to prevent Sharma from touching his feet. “Subsequently, security personnel removed him and found him carrying a pouch, which tore and apparently contained chilli powder,” the police said in the statement. The police, however, revised the statement after CCTV footage showed the man bowing before Kejriwal before suddenly trying to reach for his face. When asked why the police had made that initial statement, a senior officer who asked not to be named blamed “poor language skills” of an officer involved in the recording of the incident.
The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) spokesperson Raghav Chadha, who said he was an eyewitness to the attack, alleged that the intent behind the “planned attack” was to injure Kejriwal.
Later, at a press conference, deputy CM Manish Sisodia recalled all the previous attacks on the CM. “In the same building, a shoe was hurled at the CM. At the inauguration of Signature Bridge on November 4, bottles were thrown towards the CM while he was making a speech. Have any arrests been made in any of these cases?” he asked. The government later lashed out at the police for “lying on record” and sought to know how a man carrying chilli powder and a matchbox had access to the CM’S office. “What was the compulsion January 18, 2016 A woman threw ink on Arvind Kejriwal while he was addressing a gathering on the “success” of the odd-even traffic rationing scheme
April 9, 2016 A shoe was hurled during a press meet by a man who claimed to be from Aam Aadmi Sena, a “breakaway” group of Aam Aadmi Party
November 4, 2018 A group of alleged BJP workers, hurled empty water bottles at Kejriwal during launch of Signature Bridge
of police to deny the attack till the CCTV coverage exposed it?” asked the government statement.
According to Rajesh Khurana, joint commissioner of police (central range), Sharma was at the secretariat to seek financial help for his mother, who suffers from tuberculosis. “He first met an officer at the Public Grievance Monitoring System (PGMS) on the seventh floor before approaching the CM on the third floor at 2.25pm,” said Khurana.
The attempted attack took place when the CM was walking out of his chamber for lunch. “Sharma tried to hand over his complaint to the CM, who in turn passed it on to a staff member standing next to him. Sharma then bowed down to touch Kejriwal’s feet, but used the opportunity to charge towards him.the attempt, however, was swiftly foiled by the CM’S security staff,” said Amit Sharma, additional deputy commissioner of police (central). “Sharma was found carrying a gutkha pouch in his hand. The pouch was filled with chilli powder that spilled out after tearing,” said the officer.
A private security guard outside the CM’S office recounted Sharma pleading with Kejriwal moments before the attack. “He said, ‘aap hi se ummeed hai’ [you are our hope],” said the guard.
The Delhi Police countered AAP’S allegations, saying that Sharma’s entry into the secretariat was facilitated by the government staff that issued him a visitor’s pass at 12.41pm. “It was not as if Sharma barged into the secretariat. The CM’S security reacted promptly to thwart the attack and detain Sharma,” said Madhur Verma, Delhi Police spokesperson.
The police, however, didn’t reveal the motive behind the attack even after hours of interrogation. “Sharma hasn’t been sharing the motive behind the attack or revealing if he had it all planned. He just keeps repeating that he is a true patriot,” said additional deputy commissioner of police Sharma, adding that the suspect has been “incoherent” in his response.
The AAP accused the police of concealing Sharma’s motive. The party said it would hold a protest outside the headquarters of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party at the Centre, at 4pm on Wednesday.
The BJP initially condemned the attack, but later alleged that it may have been an inside job carried out at Kejriwal’s instance. “The statement of the deputy CM comparing today’s attack to the one at the Signature Bridge shows that it is only a drama,” alleged Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi BJP chief.
In a video that television channels played in the evening, the accused could be heard calling Kejriwal a ‘traitor’ and the BJP a ‘party of patriots’ in response to journalists’ queries. Hindustan Times could not verify the authenticity of the video.