Delhi Police Personnel Protest Transfers Of Two Officers

The controversy stems from a scuffle between police and lawyers in the police station in which an advocate was injured. After lawyers called an indefinite strike, the ACP and the inspector were transferred. The lawyers then called off their protest.

Speaking to reporters, ACP Vashistha, reacting to the protest call by police, said the demonstration was an "organic call" and that he was joining it. The protesting police personnel alleged misbehaviour and threats by lawyers.

Vashistha said they had requested senior officers to provide them with a platform to present their views and had also submitted a formal application in this regard. "We are confident that the senior officers will give us an opportunity to put forward our views. We will speak openly, and a solution to this matter will certainly emerge," he said.

"We have taken a stand because it is necessary to raise our voice against the hooliganism that the police are facing and the security problems arising inside police stations. Some people are engaging in hooliganism while disguising themselves, and they are enemies not only of us but of society as a whole," he said.

He added that if police stations themselves are not safe, then no place can be safe. On October 23, advocate Lalit Bansal allegedly sustained a serious head injury during a scuffle inside Shahdara police station. It was followed by a confrontation between lawyers and police personnel at the police station, prompting district court lawyers to launch an indefinite strike.

Delhi Police had on October 28 transferred Vashistha, who was posted as the sub-divisional police officer in Gandhi Nagar, to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC). Inspector Arun Kumar, the then SHO of Shahdara police station, was transferred to the security unit.

The transfers came amid demands by lawyers to take action against the police officers allegedly responsible for the assault on Bansal and the subsequent confrontation at the police station. The proposed protest had prompted senior police officers to monitor personnel mobilisation, with district DCPs reportedly asked to ensure that their staff did not participate in the demonstration. Vashistha had also proposed a dialogue with the Delhi Police Commissioner, suggesting that it be broadcast online so that police personnel and the public could watch it.