Delhi Police suspends ACP Manasvi Vashishta after protest outside headquarters

Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishta, who led a protest by police personnel outside the force's headquarters on Monday, has been suspended. The action comes after scores of police officers gathered on Jai Singh Road to seek a meeting with Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar over the recent confrontation between police personnel and lawyers at Shahdara police station in east Delhi.

Vashishta, who was recently transferred from the Gandhi Nagar subdivision, and Shahdara station house officer (SHO) Arun Kumar were moved out following an indefinite strike by lawyers over the police handling of an assault case involving advocate Lalit Bansal.

The lawyers, who went on strike last week, alleged that the ACP and the SHO had threatened advocates who visited the police station to demand action against those accused of assaulting Bansal. They called for action against the two officers, leading to their transfers.

The protest outside police headquarters

On Monday, several police personnel assembled outside the headquarters, demanding a meeting with the police commissioner and raising concerns over the treatment of officers involved in disputes with lawyers.

Leading the demonstration, Vashishta said the personnel wanted to put forward their demands directly to the commissioner. He also called for a standard operating procedure (SOP) to address such situations.

“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,” Vashishta said.

The gathering was marked by slogans such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Police Ekta Zindabad”.

The Shahdara police station confrontation

The dispute arose from an assault case involving advocate Lalit Bansal. Lawyers who visited Shahdara police station seeking action against the accused alleged that Vashishta and SHO Arun Kumar threatened advocates during the interaction.

The allegations triggered an indefinite strike by lawyers, who demanded action against the officers over their handling of the case. The subsequent transfers of Vashishta and Arun Kumar came amid the escalating standoff between members of the legal fraternity and the police.

Vashishta's suspension follows the protest in which police personnel sought the intervention of the commissioner and demanded a formal mechanism to deal with disputes involving lawyers.