Even as the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday made a bid to reconstitute thana level committees where legislators interact with police officers of their area, the Delhi Police itself has taken an initiative to build bridges with the legislators, most of whom are from AAP.
This past week, the Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma instructed all heads of police districts to hold meetings with all the MLAs from constituencies (or parts of constituency) falling under their jurisdiction.
“The police chief told us to hold meetings and incorporate suggestions in crime prevention, understanding the areas better with the help of representatives. A report has to be further compiled of each meeting and a copy should be marked to the office of the L-G as well,” said one of the Deputy Commissioners of Police. The frequency of these meetings would be at least once every three months.
Some officers see this as a bid by Mr. Verma to make up for the deterioration of relationship with the MLAs during the tenure of his predecessor B.S. Bassi. Several confrontations took place between the police and the legislators on various issues since the new government assumed power early last year.
Some of the MLAs welcomed this initiative. Former minister and Malviya Nagar MLA Somnath Bharti and Delhi Cantonment’s Surinder Singh said that this will pave the way for better coordination between the public representatives and the men in khaki, which was going to benefit the public at large.
“The relation between the city police and government, and by extension the ruling party, had been taken to its lowest point by the previous regime at the Delhi Police Headquarters. Over and again we had issues concerning those in our constituencies but were unable to raise them,” said Mr. Bharti.
Giving specific examples of some of the murders and suspected elements whose presence, he claimed, was alarming in an area with a large military presence as his constituency, Mr. Singh said he repeatedly tried to raise these points with the area police but without much help. “If I keep meeting the DCP at regular intervals, I can present my facts and also keep him updated about the needs and the situation,” he said.
