Delhi Police has been busy investigating several cases this year, including the blast incident near the Red Fort and the early morning stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station.
The biggest incident of the year occurred on November 10, when a car exploded near the Red Fort, killing 15 people and injuring many others.
The blast shook the densely populated Chandni Chowk-Red Fort area. Following the blast incident, heavy deployment of bomb disposal and forensic teams was made, the local metro station was closed and the blast site was cordoned off for several days.
The case was initially investigated by Delhi Police which was later handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was attacked on August 20 during a public hearing held in the Civil Lines area of North Delhi. The attacker, Sakaria Rajeshbhai Khimjibhai, was a resident of Gujarat and reportedly managed to breach the tight security cordon to attack the Chief Minister.
A special court recently framed charges against Khimjibhai under attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy.
The incident prompted a review of VIP security protocols and instructions were issued to tighten security for Gupta at public events.
On 15 February, 18 people were killed and 15 others were injured in a stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. The incident occurred when passengers slipped on the crowded footbridge above platforms 14 and 15.
The incident highlighted the challenges of aging infrastructure and crowd management in one of the country’s busiest transport hubs.
In May, Delhi Police arrested perhaps one of the city’s most bizarre criminals. He was a notorious Ayurvedic physician who became a ‘serial killer’ and was nicknamed ‘Doctor Death’.
Devendra Sharma (67) was convicted of multiple murders in Gurugram and Delhi. He had escaped after breaking his parole and was found living as a priest in an ashram in Dausa, Rajasthan.
Police investigation revealed that after killing people, Sharma used to feed their bodies to crocodiles.
Along with this, the police force also found itself embroiled in a sexual harassment case involving a self-styled godman. Swami Chaitanyananda Saraswati was earlier associated with a religious organization and was serving as a member of the management committee of an institution in south-west Delhi. The police began an investigation after several girl students accused him of harassment.
False bomb alerts continued to pose a challenge to schools, hospitals and colleges throughout the year and no concrete evidence was found as to who sent the alerts. To trace them, intelligence units are continuing to analyze the nature of Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Some incidents of road crime also came to light this year.
In August, Congress MP R. The incident of chain snatching occurred during Sudha’s morning walk in the high security area of Chanakyapuri. Delhi Police traced and arrested 24-year-old habitual offender Sohan Rawat within 48 hours. Police recovered 30 grams of gold chain and other stolen items from his possession.
The accused was on bail in earlier theft cases and 26 criminal cases were found registered against him.
The incident sparked debate over shortcomings in civil safety and law and order, particularly crimes against women and senior citizens.
The police force also witnessed unusually rapid changes at the top level. After the retirement of police chief Sanjay Arora, SBK Singh was appointed the 25th Commissioner of Delhi Police, but in just 21 days he was transferred to take charge as Director General of Prisons.
The then Director General of Jail Satish Golchha was appointed the 26th Police Commissioner.
In one of the biggest encounters in recent years, four gangsters from Bihar were gunned down in Rohini on October 23. Ranjan Pathak, Bimlesh Mahato, Manish Pathak and Aman Thakur were members of the Sigma gang and were wanted in connection with several murders in Bihar.
Delhi Police also dealt with many other accidents. One of them was the collapse of a four-storey building in the Welcome area of north-east Delhi on July 12. Six members of the family, including a two-year-old girl, died and eight others were injured in the accident.
The police are likely to refocus on bringing criminals to book, strengthening security at strategic locations and strengthening the urban security system in the coming year.
