Capital is fortunate that police not under state government, says BS Bassi

New Delhi: Delhites are “khushnaseeb” (fortunate) that Delhi Police doesn’t come under the Delhi government, Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi said on Monday. “People of Delhi are fortunate because Delhi Police does not come under Delhi government. If the chief minister were to handle the force, it will have to face political interference in local issues,” Bassi said. [caption id=“attachment_2570196” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  BS Bassi. File photo. PTI[/caption] He was addressing the annual press conference of the 80,000-strong Delhi Police. Bassi said the city police had not faced any political interference as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh never interfered in police work vis-a-vis local issues. “Police forces that are under state governments will have to face political interference over local issues. The situation is different for Delhi on this issue,” he said. Speaking on crimes against women, Bassi said, “If the Constitution permits shooting… if it permits hanging on spot, Delhi Police will not refrain from doing so to people who indulge in heinous crimes against women. But we are committed to human rights.” He further clarified that promoting self-defence for women doesn’t mean that the police is shedding its responsibilities of protecting every citizen. Agencies