Delhi polls: Kiran Bedi's BJP office vandalised, three injured

A group of around 150 lawyers on Monday vandalised the office of BJP’s chief ministerial candidate Kiran Bedi in her Delhi assembly constituency of Krishna Nagar, in which three party workers were injured, police said. [caption id=“attachment_2075899” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kiran Bedi’s BJP office was attacked. PTI[/caption] According to police, the incident took place around 4.30 p.m., when the lawyers - protesting the announcement of Bedi as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s chief ministerial candidate for Delhi - marched towards her office raising slogans against her and the party. Due to the commotion, around 25 workers inside Bedi’s office came out and a heated argument ensued between the two groups that led to a clash. Three BJP workers - Harihar, Kapil and Manoj, all in their early 30s - were injured and later hospitalised, police said. The lawyers then entered Bedi’s office and broke some furniture, a party leader said. Bedi, who was out campaigning while the attack happened, tweeted that she is rushing back to her office.

My BJP constituency office in Krishna Nagar am informed has been attacked. Informed some injured too. Cutting short Rallies, rushing back..

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 2, 2015

Last week, office-bearers of several Bar associations in Delhi had come together to issue an appeal to the people not to vote Bedi for, what they called, her “blatant misuse of power”. Coming under an umbrella organisation called ‘Action Committee: All Bar Associations of Delhi’, the lawyers have called the first woman IPS officer of the country-turned-activist-turned-politician as “Lathi-charge Bedi” - referring to her 1988 attack on unarmed and peaceful lawyers as well as the registeration of a case against the then injured lawyers, which was later dropped by CBI holding it as a false case. “She brought a 2000-strong mob which destroyed the Tis Hazari lawyers’ chambers and vehicles. She manipulated and forged records/logbooks to create false evidence in her favour,” one of the protesters told CNN-IBN. Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Beniwal told IANS that a probe would be ordered into the incident as soon as police receive a written complaint. Bedi visited the injured workers in hospital and said their statements have been recorded.

Met the injured.Their statements recorded. Will give all evidence to the police and await the findings of police investigation to know who

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 2, 2015

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Thanked all our #BJPvolunteers who bore the assault and did not get provoked! Appealed to them to remain calm,civil and peaceful.

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) February 2, 2015

BJP’s Delhi unit president Satish Upadhyay “strongly” condemned the attack and accused “some activists” of the Aam Aadmi Party of being behind the attack. “We strongly condemn the attack. This is a repetition of the attack on the BJP national headquarters by AAP activists before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections,” he said. “Before the birth of the AAP, there was no place for violence or abusive misconduct in the politics of Delhi. It is up to the people of Delhi now to totally reject the politics of anarchism,” Upadhyay added. Earlier today, Bedi’s election campaign chief Narendra Tandon quit the party over what he termed as her ‘dictatorial conduct’ but within hours withdrew the same. The party, at a press conference this afternoon, said Tandon continued to be a member but did not specify if he would be a part of Bedi’s team. (With inputs from IANS)