day after Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba was attacked, a 30-second CCTV footage showing her marching into a sweet shop, toppling the billing machine, and charging at the manager has emerged. The Delhi Police, quick to act on the complaint, have booked her for trespassing and vandalism.
“The footage is after I was attacked and had gone to the sweet shop because the attacker was there,” she said in her defence. “The shop in the footage belongs to the BJP MLA, Om Prakash Sharma, and I had gone there with the volunteers so that the attacker could be brought out. Not that we vandalised the shop.”
Ms. Lamba on Monday afternoon also approached the Delhi Commission for Women against Mr. Sharma, for threatening her that “Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s goons will face the lathis of BJP workers in future for raiding shops.”
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She said the raid was aimed at the shops in the area which were operating illegally and helping drug peddlers. “I want to ask why no footage has emerged which shows me campaigning against drug abuse. Why there is no footage of me being attacked?”
The Aam Admi Party slammed the Delhi Police for registering a case against the Chandni Chowk MLA rather than helping her when she was bleeding. “Her reaction was natural as the police standing there didn’t do anything. She was calling the police who were standing there, but they didn’t help,” party leader Ashutosh said on the CCTV footage.
The party has even dubbed the Delhi Police as the BJP’s PR machinery and the Commissioner, B. S. Bassi, a “senior BJP leader”, after a case was registered against her. “How come the cops never called Mr. Sharma for interrogation?” asked Mr. Ashutosh.
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The party also attacked Mr. Sharma for his ‘drug addict’ comment against its MLA and said the language used by the BJP MLA “clearly shows that he has no respect either for women or for the rule of law”.
“Attack on Ms. Lamba and subsequent incidents show that the Delhi Police are partial and acting under pressure of the Central government. No amount of futile attempts to divert attention can take away the seriousness of attack on a woman MLA in full public view, where police personnel were present. Though it can be debated whether Ms. Lamba should have entered the shop after being attacked, but how can it be used to divert the entire case?” the party said in an official statement.
The shop in the footage belongs to the BJP MLA, Om Prakash Sharma, and I had gone there with the volunteers so that the attacker could be brought out. Not that we vandalised the shop