Delhi ACP suspended after leading protest at police headquarters
Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashishta was suspended by the Union ministry of home affairs on Tuesday.
The Union ministry of home affairs suspended Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishta on Tuesday, according to the Hindustan Times. The suspension follows a protest led by Vashishta and other officers outside the police headquarters on Jai Singh Road on Monday.
The protest was held to demand the reinstatement of Vashishta and Inspector Arun Kumar, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Shahdara police station. The officers were transferred following a confrontation between police and lawyers in east Delhi on October 23, during which an advocate allegedly sustained a head injury.
The Hindustan Times reported that the ministry's order placed Vashishta under suspension with immediate effect but did not cite a reason. The order also stated that Vashishta must remain at the Delhi headquarters and cannot leave without prior permission from the Competent Authority.
In a video shared on Instagram, Vashishta said that suspension is a departmental action and expressed faith that there will be a fair inquiry and a fair judgment.
The controversy began after a scuffle at the Shahdara police station. While lawyers alleged that Vashishta intimidated them, police alleged that a group of nearly 20 lawyers misbehaved with Vashishta and Kumar on October 24.
Vashishta is a 2019-batch DANIPS officer and a mechanical engineer from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. He previously served in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Delhi Police Security Unit.