Delhi Police ACP Manasvi Vashishta , who led Monday’s protest by around 500 police personnel outside the force’s headquarters, has been suspended, a day after the protesting officers put forward five demands, including a grievance redressal committee and an SOP to deal with confrontations involving lawyers.
The protest followed the transfer of Vashishta and Arun Kumar, the station house officer (SHO) of Shahdara police station, after lawyers called for an indefinite strike over the police handling of an assault case involving advocate Lalit Bansal. An FIR was subsequently registered at the Shahdara police station on a complaint filed by advocate Amulya Ratan. They also sought restrictions on the number of lawyers entering a police officer’s office at one time, and security for police personnel inside courtrooms.
The protest continued for over 10 hours, with a delegation meeting senior officers, including Delhi Police commissioner Anurag Kumar, twice during the day. The dispute stems from an altercation between two sides on October 23 in east Delhi’s Shahdara, during which Bansal sustained a head injury. Following the transfers, police personnel gathered outside the Delhi Police headquarters on Monday, pressing for their demands amid growing tensions between the police force and the legal fraternity. Delhi police officers, including the now suspended ACP Vashishta, gathered outside the police headquarters on Jai Singh Road on Monday.
