Could not take immediate action as staff was outnumbered: DCP

NEW DELHI: As the public questions the conduct of policemen, who were seen in a video clip of kanwarias vandalising a car passively ambling around without making active efforts to catch or stop the kanwarias, Delhi Police have justified the inaction saying they were outnumbered and controlling the situation until reinforcement arrived.

“Three of our PCR staff were seen in the video footage. Apprehending any kanwaria on the spot would have aggravated the situation. So sometimes it is better to wait for reinforcement to arrive. This decision is taken by the officer on the spot,” said Deputy Commission of Police (West) Vijay Kumar.

The video footage, shot by mobile, shows policemen roaming around the car as it is being vandalised by kanwarias with baseball bats and sticks.

None of the policemen in the video are seen trying to snatch away the baseball bats from the hands of the angry kanwarias.

The police said that the priority of the PCR staff was to search the victims and know if they were injured and to attend to them if they needed help.

“On receipt of the call, an inspector of Moti Nagar police station rushed to the spot followed by Additional DCP, ACP of Punjabi Bagh and SHO of Moti Nagar. However, when the inspector reached the spot, he found one car damaged but no Kanwarias gathering there,” said the DCP.

The cops claimed that it is premature to comment whether the kanwarias are from Delhi or outside.

Meanwhile, a police team collected all the video footage shot by passersby, as well as the CCTV footage around the Moti Nagar Metro station area, where the vandalism took place to get some clue about the accused.

Police said though it is difficult to trace the accused immediately, they are confident that the footage will prove vital in identifying an nabbing the accused involved.