Opposition leaders criticise Delhi Police after personnel protest officer transfers
Around 100 police personnel gathered at the Delhi Police headquarters to demand the reinstatement of two transferred officers.
Around 100 Delhi Police personnel, including women officers, gathered outside the force's headquarters on Monday morning to protest the transfer of two officers. The demonstrators held placards and posters demanding the reinstatement of Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashistha and Shahdara Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Arun Kumar to their previous postings, according to The New Indian Express and Deccan Chronicle.
The transfers occurred on October 28 following a confrontation between police and lawyers at the Shahdara police station on October 23. During that scuffle, advocate Lalit Bansal allegedly sustained a serious head injury. Lawyers subsequently launched an indefinite strike across Delhi's district courts, which they called off after the two officers were transferred.
ACP Vashistha, who was moved to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), described the demonstration as an "organic call." He stated that the protest was necessary to raise voices against hooliganism and security problems inside police stations.
Opposition and youth leaders criticised the police action. CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya questioned the response to the demonstration, while Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra took a dig at the force on social media. All India Students' Association national president Neha Bora also questioned if the police would register an FIR against their own personnel for assembling in an area where Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) is in effect.