Delhi minister Rakhi Birla's car attacked, escapes unhurt, insists she won't take security

New Delhi: Delhi Minister Rakhi Birla on Sunday escaped unhurt in an attack on her car by unknown persons in Mangolpuri but the youngest member of the Aam Aadmi Party Cabinet insisted that she will not take police protection.

The 26-year-old Women and Child Development minister had gone to a temple here and was sitting in the front seat of her white WagonR car when some people threw a stone at the vehicle, damaging the windscreen.

Immediately after the incident at 6 P.M., Birla said she will not take any police protection and was 'undeterred' by the attack.

"I will not take any security. This is a decision based on our principle. I am not scared and I will keep working for people's welfare," she said.

The minister later went to the Mangolpuri police station in north-west Delhi and filed a complaint.

A senior police official in the area said the assailants threw a stone at the car, which damaged the windscreen. "We are registering an FIR against unknown persons and are trying to nab the culprits," the official said.

An AAP spokesperson said Birla was sitting in the front seat of her personal car when the attack took place at R Block Mangolpuri while returning from Santoshi Mata Mandir in the area. She is the local MLA. 

After the incident, Birla said, "Our party leader Santosh Koli had sacrificed her life for society. We are committed to serving the people. I draw inspiration from Koli and will not be scared by any such incident."

Three other party workers were accompanying Birla in the car when the attack took place.

Birla had defeated Congress heavyweight Raj Kumar Chauhan in the Mangolpuri constituency in the Assembly polls which were held here on December 4, 2013.

In keeping with AAP's promise on austerity, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has refused to take any security with all of his six ministers saying they would follow in their leader's footsteps in that regard.

The 28-year-old Koli died in August, 2013, in a Gurgaon hospital after she was injured in a road accident. The fatal accident took place on June 30 last year when a car rammed her two-wheeler from behind near Pacific Mall in Kaushambi in Ghaziabad before speeding off.

Koli had sustained severe brain injuries in the accident. In the first Cabinet meeting presided over by Kejriwal, it was decided that no Delhi government ministers and officials would use the red beacon. It was also decided that no PSOs and escort vehicles would be provided to any officials with security to be allowed only on the basis of threat perception.

In its manifesto, AAP had promised to end the 'VIP culture' in Delhi.

The attack on Birla took place towards the end of a hectic day for the minister. She had first gone to the studio of a news channel for a live telecast following which she attended a meeting on the working of the Mohalla Sabha in Mangolpuri.

At 5.30 P.M., she went to the Santoshi Mata Mandir for a programme. It was at 6.15 P.M. — while she was returning from the temple — that the attack on her car took place in a crowded area.