Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal launched sharp criticism against Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that Delhi has become the “gangster and extortion capital” of India under his oversight.
Addressing the media in Delhi, Kejriwal highlighted the worsening law and order situation in the national capital. He stated that gang violence, extortion calls targeting businessmen, and frequent shootings have surged in the past one to two years, drawing parallels with Mumbai’s underworld-dominated 1990s.
“In the last one to two years, the law and order in Delhi has been deteriorated. We have heard that in the decade of 1990s, the underworld dominated in Mumbai – there used to be open shootouts there… We didn’t think that Delhi would face a similar situation. Gangsters have captured Delhi, businessmen are getting ransom calls, and firing is common. I have come here (Nangloi) to meet Roshan Lal on whom shots were fired a few days back when he came to open his shop,” Kejriwal remarked.
Kejriwal also accused the BJP of preventing him from meeting Roshan Lal, the victim of a shooting incident in Nangloi. “BJP has sent thousands of its people to stop me. I wasn’t allowed to meet him… Who is responsible for all this? (Union HM) Amit Shah has this responsibility of Delhi’s law & order and under him, Delhi has become a gangster and extortion capital.”
He further emphasized the need for improved security in Delhi, saying, “I want the law and order in Delhi to improve so that the common man, businessmen, and women are safe. The people of Delhi gave me responsibility for education, health, and electricity, which I have sorted. The people of Delhi gave the responsibility of law to the Centre, which has deteriorated. People are frightened to come out of their homes. People are getting calls for extortion. There is more than one such incident.”
Responding to the allegations, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Madhup Tewari stated that the Nangloi shooting incident occurred two months ago and was resolved promptly with the arrest of two individuals and recovery of weapons.
“We have received the information that this incident (Nangloi firing) – which is a two-month-old incident is again being highlighted. We want to clarify that Delhi police took quick action in that and have arrested two accused within a day and have also recovered the weapons. I don’t know why it is being highlighted again, even when we took very effective action,” said Tewari.
Previously, on September 30, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested two sharpshooters from the Jitender-Gogi gang, a day after shots were fired at a sweets shop in Nangloi during an extortion bid. The police recovered a semi-automatic pistol, a country-made pistol, and a motorcycle used in the crime.
The arrested individuals, Hari Om alias Lalla (27) and Jatin (21), reportedly fired gunshots at the shop and left extortion slips featuring images of deceased gangsters Jitender alias Gogi and Kuldeep Fajja, along with names of jailed gangsters Deepak alias Boxer, Ankesh Lakra, and Vishal. Police used CCTV footage and manual inputs to identify the duo and apprehended them in Rohini