Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit pitches for bringing Delhi Police under city govt

NEW DELHI: Using the Delhi gangrape incident, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit today pitched for bringing the police under the city government and said the people's faith in police has been "badly affected" following the incident.

"I believe that law and order should be under the state government so that it could be made accountable. The people cannot meet the Lt Governor or the Home Minister or the Home Secretary whereas we as people's representatives are easily accessible," she told India TV's Rajat Sharma in his programme Aap Ki Adalat.

Delhi Police at present is under the central government. The Chief Minister said there was a need to improve policing in the city to restore the faith of the people in the police which was badly affected following the gangrape.

Queried why the victim's body was brought in the dead of night from Singapore to Delhi and creamated in a hush-hush manner, Dikshit said "there was a possibility of people exploding in anger and it was a precautionary step (Logon mein gussa-akrosh paida hone ka khatra tha, isliye ehtiyaati kadam uthana pade)."

"I think those in charge of law and order evaluated the situation and decided to cremate her in a manner so that violence should not break out. Whatever was done was with the concurrence of the victims' parents," a press release issued by the channel quoted her as saying.