Delhi CP, officials discuss ways to check rising crime graph

Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik on Friday held a meeting with senior officials and called for a plan to curb crime in the national capital.

The meeting, which took place at Delhi police headquarters, was attended by Special Commissioners (Spl CP Law and Order & Ranges), Joint CPs and Deputy Police Commissioners (DCP) of all districts.

Briefing about the meeting, a highly placed source at Delhi Police HQ told IANS, "The rising crime incidents such as snatching, robberies and more in the past 4-5 days have put a question mark on the policing in the union territory."

On Thursday, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal held a meeting with senior police officials to take stock of the law and order situation.

According to sources, Patnaik shared Baijal's "tips" with his subordinates during Friday's meeting.

Several incidents such as snatching the mobiles of two women journalists in broad daylight, shooting by motorbike-borne assailants in Brahmpuri, murder of a 54-year-old woman in East Delhi's Madhu Vihar area and a businessman's murder in Jyoti Nagar area have highlighted the city's deteriorating law and order situation.

When these incidents made headlines, Commissioner Patnaik went into damage control mode, addressed reporters about Delhi's law and order situation and tried to use crime statistics with the police saying there was a dip in incidents of crime over the past two years. But the incidents of the past 4-5 days separate fact from fiction.

Delhi Police Spokesperson Anil Mittal told IANS, "Police are working on several plans to curb crime in the city. Several measures such as CCTV vigilance, more barricades on streets for increased checking and a more active police beat system have been put in place to curb crime." IANS