New Delhi: When the violence near the Jamia Nagar area and New Friends Colony was at its peak on Sunday, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik along with his subordinates were busy posing for the shutterbugs.
The police, however, claimed Tuesday that the violence broke out and the situation began getting chaotic, he did go to the affected areas and stayed there for quite some time.
Earlier, there were reports that the Delhi Police Commissioner was busy inaugurating a Civic Amenities Centre in the DDA Market in Sector 10, Dwarka and flagging off Community Policing Vehicles at the National Law University in Sector 14, Dwarka.
Refuting the charge, Delhi Police Additional Public Relation Officer (APRO) Anil Mittal said: “When Patnaik was present in the first function in Dwarka, there was no report of violence in Jamia. However, when he went to attend another function, the reports of violence trickled in. CP (Patnaik) immediately left and went to the affected areas in Jamia. He met several people there and gave directions to bring the situation under control.”
When asked who are the officers and people Patnaik met in Jamia, Mittal told this correspondent: “It is irrelevant. Just mention that he visited the affected areas,” refusing to give details of the visit.
When further asked at what time Patnaik visited the Jamia area and for how long he stayed there, Mittal refused to provide answers to the questions. Delhi Police seemed to have no answer to the pertinent questions as why he is not seen in any of the videos that emerged after the violent protests of Sunday.
IANS had released pictures Monday of the Delhi Police Commissioner attending a programme on ‘Swachhta Abhiyan’ at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium and posing with Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal. The Police Commissioner then went to attend another event in Dwarka.
Questions are also being raised as to why Delhi Police Commissioner missed media, which was present in large numbers at the affected site on Sunday when violence took place. How is it possible that he reached the spot and did not interact with the reporters or give any sound byte?