New Delhi

Kiran Bedi not to join Olympic torch relay

NEW DELHI: The country’s first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Wednesday declined to participate in the Olympic torch relay in India, saying bolstered security measures would mar the “spirit and exuberance of the event.”

Speaking to The Hindu, she said there was no point in participating in the relay if one was scared and subjugated by extensive security measures. “What is the point in participating if one is so scared of what may happen? The Delhi police are adept at handling demonstrations and the event could have been allowed to take place without suffocating security measures in place.”

“India should have shown the world that it is capable of conducting such a vital event without going overboard with stifling security measures. If I were in charge, I would not have made such cloistered arrangements,” she said.

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