Delhi Police protest: 5 demands include lawyer-police SOP, security inside courtrooms

Around 500 Delhi Police personnel staged a protest outside the force's headquarters on Monday, pressing for five demands amid tensions with the legal fraternity. The demonstration continued for more than 10 hours, with a delegation meeting senior officers, including Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar, twice during the day.

The protest came after the transfer of ACP Manasvi Vashishta and Arun Kumar, the station house officer (SHO) of Shahdara police station. Lawyers had called an indefinite strike over the police handling of an assault case involving advocate Lalit Bansal. Vashishta, who led Monday's demonstration, was subsequently suspended.

Five demands raised by protesting personnel

The officers sought the formation of a grievance redressal committee and a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle confrontations involving lawyers. They also demanded that the FIR registered on Vashishta's complaint against lawyers should not be quashed.

The remaining demands included restrictions on the number of lawyers allowed inside a police officer's office at a time, and security for police personnel inside courtrooms.

“Our demands are clear. We need to meet CP sir. There needs to be an SOP (standard operating procedure) to deal with such matters. If this happens to us, how will we fight to save the people of the city,” an earlier HT report quoted Vashishta as saying. The gathering also raised slogans of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Police Ekta Zindabad”.

Dispute began with assault case involving advocate

The tensions stem from an altercation between two sides in east Delhi's Shahdara on October 23, during which Bansal sustained a head injury. An FIR was subsequently registered at Shahdara police station on the complaint of advocate Amulya Ratan.

Lawyers, who went on strike last week, alleged that Vashishta and SHO Arun Kumar threatened advocates who visited the police station seeking action against those accused of assaulting Bansal.

Following the transfers, police personnel gathered outside the Delhi Police headquarters on Monday to protest against the action and press for their demands.

In a video message released on Sunday, Vashishta said the gathering was not directed against advocates but against those who misused their power.

A police sub-inspector who participated in the protest said officers needed to raise their voices. He claimed a 30-minute video showed men wearing black coats assaulting the ACP and the SHO, questioning why the two officers had been transferred despite the footage.

“If we are wearing body cams and there is proof that we are not in the wrong, then why are we facing action?” he said.