Police remain in the dark about Kejriwal's movements

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's adamant refusal to accept security has put police personnel from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh deputed to guard him in a spot.

The policemen complain that neither Kejriwal nor his Aam Aadmi Party colleagues ever inform them about his movements and so they are unable to take adequate steps for his protection. Frustrated policemen stand outside his apartment complex round the clock, with a view to shadowing the former Delhi chief minister if and when he steps out -- without a clue about his destination.

"We face trouble because he does not tell us where he is going," a Delhi Police officer here told IANS.

"Although he says he is an 'aam aadmi' (common man) and so does not need any security, the fact is he has a stature and there are threat perceptions," the officer added.

Both Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police personnel have complained about this to their seniors but this has had no effect.

Kejriwal became Delhi's chief minister in December 2013 after leading the AAP to a surprise second spot in a hung 70-member Delhi assembly.

But his government collapsed in 49 days and Kejriwal, who had shifted to Delhi as chief minister, then returned to his original home here in the Kaushambi area.

An AAP office functions nearby.

"We guard him and the places he visits in Delhi and elsehwere but his men are reluctant to share details of his schedule with us," said another officer requesting anonymity.

Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Kejriwal, told IANS: "He (Kejriwal) does not need security. So there is no need to tell the police about his movements. Wherever he goes, policemen come along."

A Delhi Police source told IANS that last month Kejriwal again told Delhi Police Commissioner B.S. Bassi to remove him from the list of politicians who require security cover.

But the police do not want to take any chance, certainly not when they have no political directions.

Ghaziabad Superintendent of Police Shiv Hari Meena admitted to IANS: "He (Kejriwal) refuses to accept security. But our men do their best."

A Ghaziabad Police van is parked round the clock outside Kejriwal's apartment area that has over 60 flats.

If and when Kejriwal drives out, the Ghaziabad Police police van escorts him -- up to the Delhi border.

Delhi Police too are there in Ghaziabad and, unlike the Ghaziabad Police, they continue to shadow Kejriwal wherever he goes in the capital.

When he became Delhi's chief minister, Kejriwal got a Z category security cover from Delhi Police. Thirty men were deployed for his protection.

As he lived here, Uttar Pradesh policemen were also deployed -- outside his home.

On more than one occasion, Kejriwal has requested the policemen -- once or twice by folding his hands -- to leave him alone.

His argument is that he considers himself an "aam aadmi" and so requires no protection that other citizens don't get.

But police officers think differently. For them, Kejriwal is a VIP who needs protection.

If something untoward were to happen, they would be in deep trouble.

And so they keep providing Kejriwal protection that he does not want or care about.

(Alok Singh can be contacted at alok.s@ians.in)