BackRahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal detained amid protests over ex-soldier’s suicide
Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal were detained when they tried to visit the family of ex-serviceman Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly committed suicide over OROP
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New Delhi: On a day of high drama, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi were detained on Wednesday when they tried to visit the family of an ex-serviceman, Ram Kishan Grewal, who allegedly committed suicide over the One Rank One Pension (OROP) issue.
“Formally detained by the police. No idea where they are taking me," Kejriwal wrote on micro blogging site, Twitter. While Kejriwal was detained from Lady Hardinge hospital, Sisodia and Gandhi were detained from Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.
According to a report by Press Trust of India, 12 family members of the dead man including his son were detained and some of them alleged they were thrashed by the police.
“A martyr’s family is arrested. This is Modiji’s India," Gandhi, who was not allowed to enter the hospital premises, told reporters. “I went to RML Hospital to meet the family of an ex-serviceman who committed suicide. What is wrong in that?" Sisodia wrote on Twitter.
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A government release said Grewal’s OROP was not held back but problem arose at the back end and that the circumstances of the suicide raise serious issues which merit investigation.
“Ex-Serviceman Grewal served the Territorial Army for 6 years, 11 months after which he was serving in the Defence Security Corps. However, he was entitled to OROP. The delay in receiving the revised pension was due to problems in calculation at his bank’s end. Like his other colleagues, he should have approached the ex-serviceman welfare cell. However, his case could have been resolved amicably like hundreds of others even if he had directly approached the ministry. His letter dated 31 Oct and his suicide on 01 Nov raises several questions," the release said.
It added that nearly Rs6,000 crore for OROP have been released already of which Rs4,000 crores have been disbursed as part of the first instalment and remaining for second instalment.
A video from inside the Mandir Marg police station premises was circulated later in the day where Gandhi was seen talking to police officials on the issue.
“We will not allow any kind of politics inside hospitals in Delhi. Democracy does not mean obstruction of health services," senior police official M.K. Meena told PTI.
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