Chilli powder thrown at CM Arvind Kejriwal inside Delhi secretariat
NEW DELHI, Nov 20: A man threw chilli powder at Arvind Kejriwal outside his office in the Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday, an attack the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) described as "politically motivated" while asserting that the BJP is hatching a conspiracy in collusion with Delhi Police to attack the chief minister.
Even as the man behind the attack - Anil Kumar Sharma was detained, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said his party would not be "cowed down" by these "petty tactics" by the BJP.
Police said 40-year-old Sharma, a resident of Naraina has been detained for questioning.
While the AAP blamed the BJP for the attack, the Delhi chief of the saffron party Manoj Tiwari said such incidents "cannot be tolerated or justified by anybody" and called for a high-level probe.
Officials said Kumar was targeting the bespectacled chief minister's eyes.
Kejriwal's spectacles broke but his eyes seemed to have been spared any damage, they added.
Kumar, whose Aadhaar card has been recovered, brought the chilli powder to the secretariat in packets of 'khaini', or chewing tobacco, they said. After throwing red pepper powder on Kejriwal, Kumar threatened to shoot him after he comes out of jail, an official recounted.
The attack took place outside the chief minister's chamber on the third floor when he was leaving for lunch.
AAP's national spokesperson Raghav Chadha, who was behind Kejriwal when the incident took place tweeted, "Was right behind CM @ArvindKejriwal at the Secretariat when he was suddenly attacked, on 3rd floor right outside his office. Shocking lapse of security. Is this Delhi Police's incompetent effort to protect an elected CM?
"While today just the CM's glasses fell to the floor and broke, an unacceptable security lapse nonetheless. Imagine if attacker were to be wielding a more dangerous weapon. Who were to have prevented a tragedy from occurring?"
Sisodia told reporters that the attack surprisingly took place at a high-security area.
"Recently BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari reached near stage during the inauguration of signature bridge. BJP in collusion with Delhi Police is hatching a conspiracy to attack the chief minister," he told reporters.
"We are not going to be cowed down by BJP'S petty tactics," he added.
AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the BJP for the attack.
According to Bhardwaj, the attack happened at the chief minister's office, which is a "high-security" zone. He said it was a serious matter and termed the attack "politically motivated".
"The BJP is behind the attack and the accused are being aided by the Modi government," he alleged.
The Delhi BJP chief said such incidents "cannot be tolerated or justified by anybody".
"This calls for a high-level probe," Tiwari said.
Officials close to Kejriwal accused the Delhi Police of being lax in providing him security and alleged that this was the third attempt to harm him in less than a month.
The AAP alleged that water bottles were thrown at Kejriwal by Tiwari at the inauguration ceremony of Signature Bridge earlier this month.
"Around the time of Dussehra, an unidentified man had barged inside Kejriwal's residence and had tried to attack the CM," Bhardwaj added.
In a statement issued later, Delhi Police said the incident took place around 2.25 pm on the third floor of Delhi Secretariat.
"When CM was coming out of his chamber, one person later identified as Anil tried to hand over his complaint to the chief minister who in turn passed it on to a staff member," said the statement.
Meanwhile Anil bowed down to touch the feet of Kejriwal. The chief minister's security tried to take him away but in the process Kejriwal's spectacles fell, it said.
"Subsequently security personnel removed him aside and found him carrying a pouch in his hand, which got torn and apparently containing chilly powder.
"Sharma was visiting the Secretariat with reference of some staff. He has been detained for further questioning," the statement added.
Watch: Chilli powder thrown at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/xieyRYaJLU
— TOI Delhi (@TOIDelhi) November 20, 2018
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
EC demands extra security as unrest grips Bangladesh afresh
Dhaka (PTI): The Election Commission (EC) has demanded extra security for its chief, other commissioners and officials as fresh unrest visibly gripped Bangladesh after gunmen shot an upcoming parliamentary polls candidate and frontline leader of last year's violent street movement dubbed 'July Uprising'.
"The EC has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) urging comprehensive security arrangements for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Election Commissioners (ECs), senior officials of the Election Commission Secretariat," the state-run BSS news agency reported on late Saturday.
The EC simultaneously sought the extra security for its field-level offices ahead of the 13th national election, as two of them came under attack in southeastern Lakshmipur and southwestern Pirojpur by unidentified miscreants after the announcement of the schedule for the upcoming polls on Thursday.
The commission demanded an additional escort vehicle for the CEC, while one such police escort with a vehicle was currently in place for him. It asked for round-the-clock police escorts for the four commissioners and the senior secretary.
The letter said the enhanced security measures were "urgent and necessary," while EC officials said their 10 regional offices, 64 district election offices and 522 sub-district level offices would store important documents and election materials.
The EC on Thursday said the upcoming parliamentary election would be held on February 12 next year, while a day later, Sharif Osman Hadi was shot from a close range in the head, critically wounding him, as he initiated his election campaign from a constituency in the capital.
Critically ill former prime minister Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) simultaneously asked Muhammad Yunus' government to provide security for all candidates in the upcoming election after the attack on Hadi, who leads a radical right-wing cultural group called Inquiab Mancha.
"We demand that the real culprit be identified immediately and brought under the law, and we call upon this government to ensure the security of all candidates without delay," BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said.
Hadi was also a frontline leader of last year's student-led violent uprising that toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024.
His Inquilab Mancha was also at the forefront of a campaign to disband the Awami League, which the interim government complied with in May this year, disqualifying the party from contesting the polls.
The government on Saturday ordered a nationwide security clampdown called 'Operation Devil Hunt 2' amid escalated fears over the law and order situation and promised to issue firearms licenses for election candidates for their own security.
Home adviser (retd) Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said the government had taken steps to ensure special security for the "frontline fighters" of the July Uprising and promised to issue firearms licenses for the election candidates.
He emphasised that the second phase of the 'Devil Hunt' was aimed at helping ensure public safety and combat the growing threat of illegal arms.
The operation was initially launched in February this year following protests over an attack on the private house of a former minister of the ousted government in the northern suburb of the capital, when it targeted alleged "henchmen" and supporters of the now disbanded Awami League.
