Delhi police commissioner BS Bassi said on Monday that his men will not hesitate to shoot those accused of committing crimes against women if the Constitution permitted them, India Today reported. Addressing the Delhi Police Annual Conference, he added that ensuring the safety of women in Delhi was their top priority.

Bassi also said the people of Delhi are fortunate that the city police was not under the administrative control of the Delhi government, or else "there would be a lot of local pressure". Bassi did not make any direct reference to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, but seemed to take a jibe at him when he said, “Humein dramebaazi ki fikr nahi (We don’t care for drama).”

The Kejriwal government has been at loggerheads with the Delhi Police following a number of rape incidents in the capital. Kejriwal had said in October that the Delhi Police was "most corrupt" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. He had even proposed putting the Delhi Police under the state government's jurisdiction for a year on a trial basis. Bassi, meanwhile, had criticised Kejriwal for being unable to curb corruption in his cabinet.