Flashback 2015: A year of bouquets and brickbats for Delhi Police

New Delhi, Dec 27: Cracking an al-Qaeda module, busting a spy ring backed by ISI and blowing the lid off an espionage racket purloining secret papers from Oil Ministry were some of the major breakthroughs for Delhi Police this year even as it was at the centre of a political storm in the wake of a "raid" on a canteen at Kerala House here.

There were confrontations between police and AAP government on a range of issues as it arrested five MLAs belonging to the party on several charges evoking strong reaction from the ruling dispensation in the city.

The probe into mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar, wife of former Union minister Shashi Tharoor, who was found dead at a 5-star hotel on January 17 last year, remained a mystery despite a case of murder being registered in connection with it.

Pushkar's viscera samples were sent to FBI's lab in the US, but the report – which is now again being analysed by a medical board here – did not clear the air, even as conspiracy theories continued to fly thick and fast.

Five Aam Aadmi Party MLAs – Jitender Singh Tomar (then law minister), Manoj Kumar, Commando Surender Singh, Somnath Bharti and Akhilesh Tripathi – were arrested in separate cases under charges that ranged from forgery and cheating to domestic violence, attempt to murder and provisions of the SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) Act.

While Bharti was arrested for allegedly assaulting and trying to kill his wife Lipika Mitra, former law minister Tomar was arrested on charges of cheating and forging degrees pertaining to his education qualification.

The tussle between Delhi Police and the AAP government kept taking turns. The AAP had strongly opposed appointment of M K Meena, Joint Commissioner of Police as the chief of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB).

The party even accused Delhi Police to be the "most corrupt" on the basis of a survey. The row intensified with the AAP government alleging Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi of corruption in connection with his membership at a housing society and procurement of apartments – one of which Bassi had sold to his brother.

While the ACB did not flinch in initiating probes against even the seniormost government officials in connection with alleged "scams" that ranged from CNG fitness certification to procurement of onions, the top cop sparred back countering allegations one after another.

PTI