Bharadwaj said the theft will serve as a wake-up call.AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj Tuesday said he was “happy” that BJP leader Vijender Gupta’s wife was at the receiving end of a theft bid, and added that this would serve as a wake up call for the opposition party leader on Delhi’s deteriorating law and order situation.
Addressing a press conference on the recent spate of crime in the city, Bharadwaj said: “Mein iss cheez pe khushi zahir karunga. Mann mein mere khushi hai iss baat ki Vijender Gupta ki wife ke saath chori ho gayi. Mein khush hoon iss baat par. Kam se kam unko ehsaah toh hua ki aam logon ke saath kya ho raha hai. Inko toh ehsas hi nahi hai is cheez ka, unko koi farak nahi padta (I am happy that Vijender Gupta’s wife has been at the receiving end of a theft. At least now, he will perhaps realise what the people of Delhi are going through.
Otherwise things don’t seem to affect them),” Bharadwaj said, adding: “This incident should serve as a wake up call. Vijender Gupta and the BJP should know that the situation in Delhi is very bad.”
On Monday, two bike-borne men snatched Shobha Vijender’s bag when she was in a car outside Mandi House Metro station. The miscreants allegedly misled her into believing the car’s tyres had burst and used the opportunity to steal her bag. Bharadwaj claimed Gupta has “openly defended” the Delhi Police, even when Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was assaulted. The AAP leader also claimed Gupta never raised the issue of law and order with Lt-Governor Anil Baijal.
When contacted, Gupta said Bharadwaj’s comment only shows the AAP is “non-serious” about crime in the city. “It is not Saurabh but Kejriwal speaking. I had raised the issue of law and order with the former MoS Home. It is they (AAP) who didn’t offer any cooperation over the last four years. Now they are talking about working together, even that is an election gimmick,” Gupta said.
Bharadwaj, the Greater Kailash MLA, said incidents of snatching leave women traumatised, sometimes to the extent that they fear even venturing out. AAP leader Atishi, who addressed the press conference alongside Bharadwaj, said that if the wife of a sitting MLA and leader of opposition, which is a very important Constitutional position, is not safe in Delhi, “how will ordinary people feel secure?”
Responding to AAP’s allegations, Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma said measures taken by police have led to a decrease in heinous crimes, crimes against women, and heinous crimes against senior citizens.
“The case being referred to is one of diverting attention of motorists to steal things from a car. Delhi Police has time and again issued advertisements and released radio jingles to alert people and make them aware about the tactics of such miscreants, who divert attention of the person at the wheel with an intent to lift belongings. Delhi Police has busted many such ‘thak thak gangs’ in the recent past,” Verma said.
