New Delhi: Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishta, who led a protest by nearly 100 Delhi Police personnel outside the force’s headquarters against his transfer and that of a Station House Officer (SHO), has been suspended for alleged violation of discipline, police sources said on Tuesday.
Vashishta joined the protest on Monday morning outside Gate No. 1 of the Delhi Police headquarters, where personnel demanded a meeting with Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and sought the reinstatement of the two transferred officers.
The protest followed the transfer of Vashishta, who was serving as Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) in Gandhi Nagar, and Shahdara SHO Arun Kumar amid a confrontation between police personnel and lawyers.
The dispute originated from an October 23 altercation at the Shahdara police station, during which an advocate, Lalit Bansal, allegedly sustained a head injury. District court lawyers subsequently launched an indefinite strike, accusing the two officers of threatening advocates who had approached the police station over the handling of the assault case.
The lawyers called off their strike after the transfer orders were issued. Vashishta was moved to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children, while Kumar was transferred to the Security Branch.
During Monday’s protest, police personnel raised five demands, including a standard operating procedure for handling confrontations involving lawyers, restrictions on the number of advocates entering police stations and action against lawyers allegedly involved in misconduct towards police personnel.
They also sought a dedicated cell at police headquarters to address complaints against lawyers and the deployment of police personnel in courts to deal with incidents of violence and misbehaviour.
After nearly three hours, Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and other senior officers met the protesters and heard their demands.
Vashishta had said that the personnel had conveyed their concerns to the Commissioner and that the demands were being discussed.
