New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to walk into the Delhi Police headquarters around 3 pm on Saturday, a building he last visited on August 30, 2022, according to officials familiar with the plan.
The visit, described by sources as a law-and-order review, comes at a politically charged moment. Delhi has seen weeks of protests over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and the July violence during the Cockroach Janta Party's 'Sansad Chalo' march still hangs over the force, which has faced allegations of excessive use of force.
Officers led by the Police Commissioner are expected to brief Shah on the chain of events that led to the confrontation, the police response, and what should change so that it does not repeat. A detailed presentation has been prepared, carrying data on cases registered, arrests made and investigations closed across the force's priority areas, sources said.
Three subjects are likely to dominate. The first is the crackdown on drug trafficking, including the mapping of supply networks and the dismantling of distribution chains in the Capital. The second is the network of gangsters operating from abroad, directing shootings, extortion and arms supply through local associates in Delhi and the NCR. The third is crimes against women, spotlighted by the alleged gangrape of a 17-year-old girl at Aastha Kunj Park in southeast Delhi in September, in which three men allegedly posed as police officers.
The meeting is also expected to touch on how the force plans to handle the next round of Opposition protests, expected to resume after Diwali. At least 57 cases linked to the CJP and Opposition protests have been transferred to the Delhi Crime Branch, including three FIRs naming Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, and ten over alleged assault on police and security personnel.
Shah has attended Delhi Police functions in recent years, but always outside the headquarters. Saturday's stop is his first return to the building in more than four years.