Around 80 Delhi Police personnel gathered outside the headquarters on Monday morning to protest the transfer of two officers. The officers were moved after a lawyer got injured during an October 23 scuffle. DCP Sachin Sharma urged the group to maintain discipline, saying, "Don't behave like protesters," but they remained.
Around 80 personnel gathered outside the Police Headquarters seeking the restoration of two officers transferred after a lawyer was injured in a scuffle at Shahdara police station; protesters demanded a meeting with the Commissioner.
Tense moments unfolded outside Gate No. 1 of the Delhi Police Headquarters (PHQ) on Monday morning as around 80 personnel stood on the footpath and protested against the transfer of two police officers even as senior officers tried to persuade them to call it off.
DCP (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma reached the spot soon after the personnel assembled and was seen speaking to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashistha -- one of the officers who was transferred -- urging him not to stage a protest.
Sharma asked the ACP and the other personnel to maintain the discipline expected of a police force and reminded them that they should not behave like protesters. He also requested some of the personnel to accompany him inside the PHQ but no one was ready. Protesters demanded a Sampark Sabha by the Commissioner.
No senior police official stepped out of the headquarters to address the gathering or respond to the concerns raised by the personnel.
Behind the protest
ACP Vashistha, who was posted in the Gandhi Nagar subdivision, and Inspector Arun Kumar, the Station House Officer of Shahdara police station were transferred following an incident at Shahdara police station on October 23, in which an advocate allegedly sustained a serious head injury during a scuffle.
The incident triggered an indefinite strike by district court lawyers, who demanded action against the officers concerned. The lawyers called off their strike on October 28 after the transfer orders were issued.
The transfers, however, led to discontent among a section of Delhi Police personnel, who sought an opportunity to meet the police commissioner and raise their concerns over the action taken against the two officers.
Messages circulated in Delhi Police WhatsApp groups had called upon personnel to assemble outside the headquarters on Monday morning to express their support for the transferred officers and seek restoration of their previous postings.
District DCPs and unit heads had been asked to ensure that their staff did not reach the PHQ for the proposed protest.
The developments also come ahead of an interaction programme scheduled by Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu with Delhi Police personnel on Tuesday, November 3. The programme is scheduled to be held at Utsav Sadan, Kingsway Camp, at 4 pm, and will include personnel from the ranks of constable to inspector.