Delhi: Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashistha, who joined a protest by police personnel outside the Police Headquarters against the transfer of two officers, has been suspended, police sources said on Tuesday, November 3, PTI reported. The suspension is the latest development in the row this desk reported on Monday, when scores of personnel gathered outside their own headquarters demanding that the transfers of ACP Vashistha and Shahdara SHO Inspector Arun Kumar be revoked. There was no immediate official statement from the Delhi Police on the suspension, PTI said, adding that further details were awaited.

Source: PTI via The Sen Times

Mirror Now reported that the suspension was ordered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) a day after Vashistha led the demonstration at the headquarters on Jai Singh Road. Vashistha had been transferred from the Gandhi Nagar subdivision to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), and Inspector Kumar to the security unit, after an October 23 confrontation between police personnel and lawyers at Shahdara police station, in which an advocate allegedly sustained a serious head injury. Lawyers alleged that Vashistha had brandished a service weapon during the confrontation — an allegation the officers' supporters dispute; police, in turn, alleged that a group of lawyers created a ruckus inside the station.

Source: Mirror Now

Oct 23police–lawyers confrontation at Shahdara police station
Nov 2personnel protest outside Police Headquarters
Nov 3ACP Vashistha suspended, sources say
5-pointcharter of demands the protesters submitted, reports say

Protest, assurances — then suspension

Monday's demonstration gathered outside Gate No. 1 of the headquarters, with personnel raising the slogan 'Vardi ka apmaan nahi sahenge' (we will not tolerate insult to the uniform), Power Corridors reported. A delegation later met Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and submitted a five-point charter of demands, and the Delhi Police said the Commissioner assured the delegation that appropriate action would be taken promptly. Reports of the crowd size varied, from around 150 personnel in early accounts to several hundred at the protest's peak.

Source: Power Corridors

After the demonstration, a meeting was held at Vimarsh Hall between the Police Commissioner and senior officers on the dignity of the force and a structured grievance-redressal system, and the department announced a joint coordination committee including representatives of the Bar Council of Delhi and local bar associations to manage future disputes, Mirror Now reported. The department also committed to reviewing service issues such as housing and promotions. The suspension of the ACP who addressed Monday's gathering now marks a sharp escalation in the standoff between sections of the force and the police leadership, and in the wider tension between Delhi Police personnel and the legal community.

Source: Mirror Now