Pleas driven by vendetta, Rakesh Asthana tells HC
The Hindu
His appointment as Delhi Police chief has come under flak
Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana has informed the Delhi High Court that he was facing a barrage of social media campaigns and selective litigations over his appointment as Delhi Police Commissioner at the behest of some “undisclosed individual/ rival/ interest”.
Mr. Asthana took charge as the Commissioner of Delhi Police on July 28. His appointment, which came just days before his superannuation on July 31, has been contested before the High Court by one Sadre Alam and NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL).
“These petitions are not bona fide public interest litigations (PIL) but are a flagrant abuse of august forum of this court for some hidden personal vendetta of either of them or of someone on whose behest several attempts are being made against me to derail my career,” Mr. Asthana said in an affidavit before the High Court.
The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.