On Monday, the video of a Delhi traffic police constable Satish Chand throwing a brick at a woman over a minor altercation created a furore and led to the suspension of the offending policeman.

The victim, Ramanjeet Kaur, who was riding a two-wheeler, alleged that the constable demanded a bribe after catching her for a traffic violation. She alleged that her child was also abused by the constable.

Delhi police chief BS Bassi immediately expressed regret. But that wasn’t enough for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. He met Ramanjeet Kaur at the Delhi Secretariat and went overboard with his support and praise for Ms Kaur.

We are proud of you. We are strongly with you and will do whatever we can. Delhi needs citizens like you, I alone can’t change the system. We all need to work together to change corrupt practices.
– Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister

Twist in the Tale

Why did the Chief Minister get involved in what is, after all, a minor incident? The answer is fairly simple. Ramanjeet Kaur seemed like a useful pawn in the ongoing battle between Kejriwal and the Delhi Police.

Then this morning, The Indian Express obtained the audio recording of the entire incident. The recording, made by the constable Satish Chand, brings to light a different sequence of events.

These are the facts that the tape reveals.

1. Ramanjeet Kaur was violating at least four basic traffic rules: riding without a helmet, two pillion riders, jumping a red light, failure to produce license and registration papers.

2. In the unedited video that has been widely circulated, one can clearly see that it is Kaur who first throws a brick/stone in the traffic cop’s direction.

3. There is no concrete proof that constable Satish Chand demanded a bribe, just the woman’s word against the cop’s.

There is of course, no justification for the policeman’s actions, no matter what the extent of provocation. Kejriwal, however, should have been a little careful before being so vocal in his support for Ramanjeet Kaur. He should’ve at least checked facts that were already in the public domain.

A Reactive Politician

This is not the first time that the Aam Aadmi Party has blundered its way through a news cycle. After Gajendra Singh’s death during an AAP rally, Kejriwal was quick to blame the Delhi police. Later, he apologised for continuing his speech, after the farmer hanged himself.

This need to be heard, to react on every issue, is denting the image of both his party and his government. Why invite this woman to his office and make a statement supporting her without knowing the facts of the case first? Will he have to apologise once again? Sooner or later, the people of Delhi are going to run out of patience. At the very least, Kejriwal needs to pause and take stock of a situation before blindly jumping in and creating ruckus over an issue.

In ten days his government completes 100 days in power. During this time the CM and his party have been in the headlines every single time for all the wrong reasons. A public and acrimonious battle with senior party leaders, sting operations, a split, and now a spat with the Delhi police and the Home Ministry.

Surely, this was not what his massive mandate demanded of Arvind Kejriwal. Let’s hope the next 100 days will be about living up to the expectations of those who voted him to power, twice.