In an unusual scene in the capital, Delhi Police personnel staged a protest outside their own headquarters on Monday morning, demanding that two transferred officers be restored to their previous postings. Reports put the number of personnel at Gate No. 1 of the Police Headquarters at around 80 to 100, including women officers, with placards and slogans raised inside the headquarters premises as well.

Source: Maktoob Media

The protest was against the transfer of Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashistha, who was posted in the Gandhi Nagar subdivision, and Inspector Arun Kumar, the Station House Officer of Shahdara police station. According to the Daily Jagran, the personnel demanded that both officers be reinstated to their earlier postings. Maktoob Media reported that messages circulated in Delhi Police WhatsApp groups had called on personnel to assemble outside the headquarters on Monday morning.

Source: The Daily Jagran

What led to the transfers

The transfers were ordered on October 28 after a scuffle at Shahdara police station on October 23, during which an advocate allegedly sustained a head injury. Lawyers alleged that ACP Vashistha misbehaved with them and threatened them by displaying his revolver; police, in turn, alleged that a group of 15 to 20 lawyers created a ruckus inside the SHO's office, misbehaved with officers and obstructed government work. Both sets of claims remain allegations. District court lawyers went on an indefinite strike demanding action against the officers, and called off their abstention from judicial work on October 28 after the transfer orders were issued — ACP Vashistha to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC) and Inspector Arun Kumar to the Security Branch.

'Don't behave like protesters'

DCP (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma reached the spot soon after the personnel assembled and spoke to ACP Vashistha, asking him not to stage a protest. Maktoob Media reported that Sharma reminded the personnel of the discipline expected of a police force, told them they should not 'behave like protesters', and asked some of them to accompany him inside — which they refused. The personnel instead demanded a Sampark Sabha, a direct interaction, with the Police Commissioner to raise their concerns. No senior police official came out of the headquarters to address the gathering, the report said. The protest came a day before Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu is scheduled to interact with Delhi Police personnel on Tuesday, November 3.