Delhi violence: Akali MP Naresh Gujral complains to Amit Shah about Delhi police’s apathy

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral likened the situation to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, where too police apathy had exacerbated the violence

Naresh Gujral. File

Shiromani Akali Dal MP Naresh Gujral has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the unresponsive attitude of the Delhi police to distress calls , not just from ordinary people caught in the violent riots in North East Delhi but also of having completely ignored his own pleas for a rescue mission for an acquaintance in Maujpur, on the night of February 26.

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In his letter,

addressed to Mr. Shah and copied to Delhi’s Lt. Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, Mr. Gujral likened the situation to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, where too police apathy had exacerbated the violence.

“On 26th night, at around 11.30 p.m., I received a desperate call from an acquaintance that he and 15 other Muslims were trapped in a house near Gonda Chowk in Maujpur, and that a mob was trying to break into the premises,” wrote Mr. Gujral, whose party is an ally in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

“I immediately called 100 to lodge a complaint and gave the police officer the phone number of the gentleman who called me. I explained the urgency of the situation and told the operator that I am a member of Parliament. At 11.43 p.m., I received a confirmation from the Delhi Police that my complaint had been received along with the reference number 946603. However, much to my disappointment, no action was taken on my complaint and those 16 individuals received no assistance whatsoever from the Delhi police. They fortunately managed to escape only because some Hindu neighbours came to the rescue. If this is the situation when a member of Parliament makes a complaint personally, it is not surprising that certain parts of Delhi continue to burn while the police stands by apathetically,” he added.

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Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Gujral, who is the son of former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral, said that the events of the last few days in Delhi were tragic and likened them to the anti-Sikh riots of 1984.

“I thought about whether to make public my letter, but I have been witness to the riots of 1984, and I don’t ever want a repeat of that. Everyone should speak up against this apathy of the police and the violence,” he said.