Somnath Bharati did nothing wrong: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Saturday defended Somnath Bharati and said there was nothing wrong done by his law minister in asking police to raid a house over allegations that its African residents were running a sex and drug ring.

Kejriwal said Bharati's move to ask police to raid the house in south Delhi area should be appreciated as no other government has worked in such a manner to curb "ill-activities" in the capital.

"Somnath did not do anything wrong and didn't pass any racist comment on the Ugandan women," Kejriwal told NDTV in an interview.

"Somnath told me that he had received many complaints from residents and from members of the resident welfare association (RWA) of the area that a prostitution and drug racket was being run in the home of the Ugandan women," he said.

Blaming Delhi Police officials, the chief minister said they did not take steps to curb the illegal activities despite having been provided information.

"At any cost, Delhi Police needs to be brought under the Delhi government so that it works in favour of the people of Delhi," Kejriwal said.

In another interview to CNN-IBN, Kejriwal said Bharati did not go to the location to raid but to find out what was happening after he received complaints from residents.

He said Bharati subsequently asked police to raid the place.

It was Delhi police which refused to do so, saying they did not have any search warrant to raid the place, he said.

"Under Section 42 of the Narcotics Act, police can raid any place where they find people... a drugs racket is being run," Kejriwal said.

The three-week-old AAP government in Delhi has faced criticism after Bharati mounted a vigilante-style raid on African residents, alleging they were running a "sex and drug ring".