ACP Manasvi Vashishta was suspended a day after leading a protest by Delhi Police personnel outside Police Headquarters in New Delhi. (Img: Pinterest)
New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday suspended ACP Manasvi Vashishta after he joined and led a demonstration by police personnel outside the Police Headquarters (PHQ) on Jai Singh Road on Monday. The protest was organised against the transfer of two officers following a confrontation with lawyers at Shahdara police station in east Delhi.
Vashishta, who was recently transferred from Gandhi Nagar, was among the officers demanding a meeting with Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar. The demonstration initially drew around 100 police personnel outside Gate No. 1 of the headquarters before expanding, with approximately 500 personnel reportedly attending a meeting with the police commissioner and other senior officers.
The suspension came on Tuesday, November 3, a day after the demonstration. The development has intensified an already sensitive dispute within the Delhi Police, with personnel questioning the administrative action taken against officers following the Shahdara incident.
The immediate trigger for Monday’s demonstration was the transfer of ACP Manasvi Vashishta and Shahdara police station Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Arun Kumar. Both officers were transferred after lawyers in east Delhi raised objections over the police response to an assault case involving advocate Lalit Bansal.
The controversy originated from a confrontation at Shahdara police station on October 23, during which an advocate allegedly sustained a serious head injury.
Members of the legal fraternity subsequently alleged that the ACP and the SHO had threatened advocates who visited the police station seeking action against the accused in the assault case. Following the allegations and the subsequent developments, lawyers in the district courts launched an indefinite strike, demanding action over the handling of the matter.
The lawyers called off their strike on October 28 after the transfer orders were issued. However, the administrative decision triggered discontent among sections of the police force, eventually leading to the protest outside the headquarters.
The demonstration began outside Gate No. 1 of the Delhi Police Headquarters on Jai Singh Road, with personnel demanding the reinstatement of Vashishta and Inspector Arun Kumar.
The gathering grew as more police personnel arrived, turning the demonstration into a larger show of solidarity. Participants raised slogans including Bharat Mata Ki Jai and Police Ekta Zindabad while pressing for a direct interaction with Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar.
The protesters argued that the transfer of the two officers had raised concerns about the treatment of police personnel during disputes involving lawyers. They also flagged alleged pressure on investigating officers in cases involving members of the legal fraternity and called for a formal mechanism to address grievances raised by police personnel.
The demonstration continued even after a meeting with senior officials, with some personnel expressing apprehension that disciplinary action could follow their participation.
While addressing the gathering on Monday, Vashishta maintained that the immediate demand was a meeting with the police commissioner and the formulation of a standard operating procedure (SOP) to handle such situations.
He argued that police personnel required a clearly defined institutional framework to deal with disputes involving lawyers and other stakeholders, particularly when officers faced allegations or pressure in the course of their official duties.
The demand for an SOP has brought the issue of police-l legal fraternity coordination into focus. Such a framework could establish clearer protocols for handling complaints, interactions at police stations, investigation-related disputes and the escalation of grievances to senior authorities.
The dispute has exposed tensions between sections of the legal fraternity and the police administration in east Delhi.
The lawyers’ protest followed allegations concerning the handling of the assault case involving Lalit Bansal. Their demand for action resulted in the transfer of the ACP and SHO, after which the strike was withdrawn.
However, the transfers prompted a separate reaction among police personnel, who questioned the circumstances surrounding the administrative decision. Their protest highlighted concerns about institutional support for officers, the handling of allegations against police personnel and the availability of an internal grievance redressal mechanism.
The contrasting positions of the two groups have placed the Delhi Police administration under pressure to address concerns surrounding both the original assault case and the subsequent departmental developments.
