The Central Delhi court bar association on Monday wrote to the Delhi Police Commissioner, demanding the registration of a criminal case against suspended assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishtha for his alleged misconduct and derogatory remarks against lawyers during a protest outside the Delhi Police headquarters over his transfer.
However, the lawyers learnt the following day that the accused had not been arrested and had reportedly been released. Vashishtha was suspended following the protest. An FIR was registered on a complaint by advocate Amulya Ratan. They alleged that ACP Vashishtha and the station house officer assured them that the accused, who were present at the police station, would be arrested. When the advocates returned to the police station to question the handling of the case, Vashishtha allegedly displayed his revolver and threatened and intimidated them, the bar bodies alleged. The police, however, have offered a counter-version, saying the confrontation followed a dispute between two groups over a motorcycle-related incident.
The controversy stems from an October 23 incident at Shahdara police station, following an alleged assault on advocate Lalit Bansal, who suffered a serious head injury.
Several advocates visited the police station that evening to seek action against those named in the assault case, according to the lawyers’ account. A protest was held outside the Delhi Police headquarters on Monday, with scores of Delhi Police officers, including the recently transferred Gandhi Nagar ACP, seeking a meeting with police commissioner Anurag Kumar over the recent face-off with Shahdara lawyers.
A separate case was registered for alleged misbehaviour with police personnel on duty, while the allegation that the ACP pointed his service weapon at the advocates was under investigation.
