The Delhi High Court on Friday asked the police to file a status report within two weeks on the vandalism of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house, Bar and Bench reported.
The court also told the police to preserve the close-circuit television footage, or CCTV, of the attack.
A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Navin Chawla was hearing a petition by Aam Aadmi Party MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj seeking Special Investigation Team inquiry into the vandalism.
The bench observed that the police force at the chief minister’s residence appeared to be inadequate. “...Whosoever was there from [the] police, it appears they tried to stop them [attackers] but they were outnumbered,” the court said, according to Bar and Bench. “So you will have to explain what was your bandobast.”
During the hearing, the police told the court that it has taken cognisance of the incident and registered a first information report, PTI reported.
Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the police, said that all evidence, including CCTV visuals from cameras around Kejriwal’s residence, will be preserved. He added that the investigation was underway, and eight persons have been arrested.
Appearing for Bharadwaj, senior advocate Rahul Mehra said that the police was not “doing any charity” and asked if it would take a similar approach if something similar were to happen at the prime minister’s office, Bar and Bench reported.
“There was [a] 20 minute blockade in Punjab,” he said. What happened there?” He was referring to an alleged breach in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security on January 5 in Punjab’s Ferozepur district.
The case in the High Court will be heard next on April 25.
The incident
On Wednesday, the Aam Aadmi Party had alleged that members of the Bharatiya Janata Party broke CCTV cameras and security barriers at Kejriwal’s house in the presence of the Delhi Police.
In CCTV camera footage shared by the party on Twitter, a group of people – some of them wearing saffron scarves and headgear – could be seen breaking a security barrier in front of Kejriwal’s house and banging on the main gate.
The Delhi Police has filed a case against unidentified people in connection to the attack under Indian Penal Code sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty).
A case has also been registered under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
The BJP has been holding protests against Kejriwal in connection with his remarks on March 24 about the Hindi film The Kashmir Files.
Kejriwal had said that the makers of the film should release it on video streaming platform YouTube so that everyone could watch it free of cost. He had made the comment in response to demands by BJP leaders that that the movie should be exempted from entertainment tax in Delhi.
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