[Bassi, who has crossed swords with the AAP government in New Delhi, has expressed his open admiration for prime minister Narendra Modi. It is widely speculated that Bassi will join BJP after his retirement next week.]
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/cover-story/Meet-the-man-who-makes-Mumbai-cops-look-good/articleshow/51032461.cms MEET THE MAN WHO MAKES MUMBAI COPS LOOK GOOD By S Hussain Zaidi, Mumbai Mirror | Feb 18, 2016, 02.44 AM IS After losing a clutch of bouts with Delhi - the Sheena Bora murder probe and the Chhota Rajan investigation, for instance -- the Mumbai police are suddenly looking better of the lot with the Delhi police commissioner's brazenly partisan attitude in policing Delhi coming to the fore. On Wednesday, the Delhi police chief, Bhim Sain Bassi, failed to rein in advocates who assaulted Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) leader Kanhaiya Kumar despite the Supreme Court directing the police to maintain law and order at the Patiala House courts. As if to prove a point, Bassi's men did precious little when the Supreme Courtappointed panel of lawyers reached Patiala House to assess the situation. The lawyers, including Kapil Sibal and Rajiv Dhawan, were called "agents of Pakistan" and pelted with stones. Former top cops of Mumbai who saw the drama play out on national television said they were totally dismayed at Bassi's inaction and numb reaction to the violators of the law. "The spate of lawlessness in Delhi should be stopped. Police should not be reduced to being mere spectators," said former Mumbai police commissioner MN Singh. The officer is still remembered for his crackdown on the Mumbai underworld and policing the city with a no-nonsense approach. During his tenure as police commissioner, Singh had arrested even the most politically connected moneybags for their nexus with the underworld. Bassi had justified his inaction by saying that Kanhaiya Kumar had not been attacked but only been 'jostled around'. Moreover, he reasoned, lawyers are 'officers of the court' and need to be handled carefully. Julio Ribeiro, former Mumbai police commissioner who went on to become the DGP of Punjab and was shot at by militants, dismissed Bassi's justification as bunkum. "What kind of lawyers are these who break the law," he asked. "I would have arrested the lawyers from their homes at night. I would never condone such acts," he continued. Singh concurred. "No one is above the law. If Mr Bassi said this then I am really surprised. This is a clear case of rioting by the lawyers and the politician who actually incited the mob. The politician should be thrown behind the bars," he said. Singh was referring to BJP MLA from Delhi, OP Sharma, who led the rioting mob that attacked journalists and JNU students at Patiala House courts on Monday. While punching a CPI leader on the day the case against JNU students was being heard, Sharma had said: "Goli maar deta agar bandook hoti (I would have shot him if I had a gun)." Ribeiro, who became known for his bullet-for-bullet strategy in both Mumbai and Punjab (he took charge during the militancy days), says Bassi's staements have disappointed him. "I always had good opinion about Mr Bassi. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed my opinion about him. He is angling for a post-retirement job. I think that the court themselves should take cognizance of lawyers' misbehaviour." A 1977 batch IPS officer, Bassi has never served in tough departments like the Special Cell or the Crime Branch - departments which require policing rigour and painstaking crime fighting. Most of his career was spent outside Delhi in relatively stress-free stations like Chandigarh, Pondicherry or Goa. ***Bassi, who has crossed swords with the AAP government in New Delhi, has expressed his open admiration for prime minister Narendra Modi. It is widely speculated that Bassi will join BJP after his retirement next week.*** [Emphasis added] PS Pasricha, the ex-Mumbai police commissioner known for sorting out Mumbai's law and order situation as well its traffic, said: "I feel the whole situation could have been handled better." The lone voice of support that Bassi received was from a former state police chief that this newspaper spoke to. "Bassi is my batch mate and the prerogative to arrest or to not arrest an accused rests with the police and the investigating authorities as conferred upon them by the Supreme Court. Bassi should not be maligned the way he is being attacked by the media," said the former officer who did not wish to be identified. Mumbai may not have Singhs, Ribeiros or Pasrichas as police commissioners anymore but Bassi's prejudices and statements make the force look better than the Delhi Police. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
