PM, Soniaji want VIP security in Delhi to be trimmed, Home Miniser Sushilkumar Shinde tells Aap Ki Adalat

New Delhi, Jan 12: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde has said the committee on VIP security in his ministry is presently going through a proposal to reduce Delhi Police security being given to VIPs, after Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told him to look into it. Shinde's disclosure comes in the wake of nationwide outrage over the gruseome gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old girl inside a Delhi bus on December 16. Replying to questions from Rajat Sharma in India TV show Aap Ki Adalat, Shinde said: "The Prime Minister and Soniaji told me about trimming VIP security 2-3 days ago, and I have asked the Home Secretary to look into it. The committee in the Home Ministry which looks into this matter is presently studying the proposal. I can only promise, that VIP security will be trimmed very soon (jaldi kam ho jayegi)." Shinde said, out of 86,000 Delhi policemen, nearly 7,000 policemen are deployed for VIP security. "Out of this, 2,500 policemen are deployed for security of Z plus category VIPs, and the rest for security of High Courts and vital installations", he added. On the issue of giving death sentence to rapists, Shinde had a different take. The Home Minister said: "All rape cases cannot be considered as rarest of rare cases. However the gruesome gangrape that took place in Delhi comes into the rarest of rare case category." (sab rapes rarest of rare nahin hotey. Jis tarah ki yeh ghrinaaspad ghatnaa hui, woh rarest of rare case hai) Pressed by Rajat Sharma whether like his predecessor he would not recommend commuting death sentences to rapists as the former President Pratibha Patil did, Shinde said: "So long as I am in this chair, I will never recommend such a thing to the President." On the previous cases of death sentences being commuted by the former President, Shinde said: "I do not know about those cases. At least it was not during my tenure. The only death sentence that I recommended (Ajmal Kasab) is known to all, and even the Washington Post has appreciated it." Shinde said, in the Delhi gangrape case, the strongest sentence should be given, and there should be no mercy shown at all. He however clarified that the final verdict lay with the courts. On the question of framing tougher anti-rape law, Shinde said, the Justice J. S. Verma committee was already looking into it, and it has been given a timeline of 30 days. "Nobody should doubt our sincerity on that score", he added. Shinde said: "Never before did the Home Minister of India accompany the Delhi Chief Minister to go to the Chief Justice of India for setting up of fast-track courts. I went with Sheilaji to the Chief Justice of India, not only for this case, but for disposal of all pending rape cases through fast-track courts". The Home Minister said, every police station in Delhi shall have two female sub-inspectors and 10 women constables. "For this, my ministry has sanctioned creation of 2,506 posts and the proposal has been sent to the Finance Ministry. I promise this will happen soon." Asked why the cremation of the Delhi gangrape victim was done in a hush-hush manner, Shinde said, the cremation issue was left to the wishes of her parents and relatives. "Our people were only assisting. I had given instructions to police not to do anything against the wishes of her family". Shinde denied that the decision to airlift the victim to a Singapore hospital was done on the government's advice. "It was a decision solely based on the advice of doctors. The Safdarjang and AIIMS doctors found her critical, and sought the advice of Dr Trehan (of Medanta Hospital). It was decided that since Singapore was nearer, we should take the girl there first, and after she had slightly improved, she could be shifted to either to the US or London. "The government's only intention was to save the girl. Had she not been sent abroad, the media would have raised questions. We have nothing to hide. After so much atrocities on that girl, where was the need of doing politics on this issue?", Shinde said. On the police action against protesters at India Gate, Shinde said, the protesters had tried to storm Rashtrapati Bhavan, and had broken down barricades. "Several of them even entered the North Block. I am fully with the sentiments of the protesters, but any such demonstration much be peaceful", he said. On the clampdown against protests at India Gate, Shinde pointed out that the Russian president Vladimir Putin was arriving in India. "We cannot play with our nation's prestige and dignity when a foreign guest is coming. Nowhere in the world such things are allowed to happen." Sushilkumar Shinde in Aap Ki Adalat will be telecast on India TV on Saturday (Jan 12) at 10 pm and on Sunday (Jan 13) at 10 am and 10 pm.