Night of shame continues…..

The only silver lining was that, besides the government benefits to the family of the slain head constable, in a fine gesture, the iconic and legendary film star Amitabh Bachchan sent a handsome amount of money by cheque, with a letter of condolence to the bereaved family. While no citizen from the city of Delhi, some of whom have vulgar amounts of wealth, came forward to help the late head constable’s kin, at least a celebrity of the stature of Bachchan, living over a thousand miles away, deemed it his duty to recognize the policeman’s martyrdom and chip in to help his family. I was touched by his gesture and sent him an emotional thank-you letter on behalf of the Delhi Police.

Post the clean-up operation at India Gate, the next big task was to ensure that the protestors did not occupy it again. To seal the many approach roads to the monument on a round- the-clock basis was a humongous task. The government was unable to provide additional force, and consequently, we had to make do with our own resources. We had to virtually close down our police stations and draw out every single man for deployment. Policemen set up barricades on all approach roads to the central vista to prevent demonstrators from reaching it. The credit for this unprecedented mobilization and deployment goes to Dharmendra Kumar.

I would often meet my men braving the cold in the dead of the night, share a cup of tea with them and try to raise their morale. It is to their credit that after 23 December, crowds were not allowed to gather anywhere near India Gate.

To be continued……