Delhi Police apologises to ex-servicemen for using force

New Delhi, Aug 18
Delhi Police on Tuesday apologised for its action against protesting ex-servicemen at Jantar Mantar on the eve of Independence Day, saying it will try to "rectify" its mistake.

After meeting the ex-servicemen, Joint Commissioner of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena addressed media persons along with the veterans, and said: "We respect the veterans."

"We take care of internal security, but it is the soldiers who guard the border, and the Delhi Police know that without them the country cannot be safe," Meena told reporters.

"We discussed in detail the incident of 14th (August). Confusions do occur at times, we will try to rectify our mistakes," Meena said. "We did not intend to hurt anyone."

On behalf of the veterans, Major Gen. Satbir Singh (retd.) said the police have assured them that such incidents would not recur.

On Friday, Independence Day-eve, police tried to forcefully evict the protesting ex-servicemen from Jantar Mantar, leading to a scuffle and leaving the veterans upset over the treatment meted out to them despite their being ex-servicemen of the country.

The union home ministry promptly intervened in the matter and the protesting ex-servicemen were assured that they would not be asked to vacate the protest venue.

There are around 24 lakh retired servicemen in the country and around 6.5 lakh widows who will benefit from the implementation of One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme for which the ex-servicemen are agitating in Delhi.