As the Opposition benches hit out at the increasing rate of crime in Delhi, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit also took a potshot at the Delhi Police.

“It is definitely a matter of concern that people of Delhi have a sense of insecurity,” she said.

The Delhi government had approached the Home ministry before the Assembly elections to bring a part of the Delhi Police under them. The Home ministry is, however, yet to respond to the request.  “It is a time of specialisation. The police should be divided and compartmentalised into VIP and other security; traffic police and law and order,” Dikshit said.

An analysis of figures in snatching cases reveal that 92 per cent of the accused arrested for such crimes were illiterate, school dropouts or had studied till Class X. Police data further states that 74 per cent of the accused are aged below 25. The police claims to have verified the ownership of over 1.74 lakh motorcycles since February this year to put a stop to snatching cases.  

The statistics of the last five months also reveal that dacoity and murder cases have reported a decline. Compared to last year’s 215 cases, 214 cases of robbery have been reported this year. Sixty nine per cent of these cases have been reported on roads.

Till May 31 this year, 4,362 motorcycle thefts have been reported. The Delhi Police attributed the increase in motorcycle theft cases to an increase in the number of vehicles. The police also claimed to have written to manufacturers to install anti-theft devices either at the factory or at the time of the delivery of the vehicle. 

Putting the onus on MLAs to check the law and order situation in their respective constituencies, the Chief Minister told the MLAs to regularly attend meetings of the thana committee, formed way back in 1998.

The idea behind the thana committees was to promote interaction between police officials and leaders. By an order of the Delhi Police, these meetings were to be held on a monthly basis. However, records for last two years show that in certain police stations, not a single meeting has been held for an entire year