Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu is scheduled to meet Delhi Police personnel on November 3 after messages calling for a protest against the transfer of two officers circulated within the force following a scuffle at Shahdara police station.
The interaction will be held at Utsav Sadan in Kingsway Camp from 4 pm, according to a Delhi Police circular. Personnel from the rank of constable to inspector have been directed to attend after nomination by district and unit heads.
The proposed gathering follows the transfer of Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashistha, who was posted in the Gandhi Nagar subdivision, and Inspector Arun Kumar, the station house officer of Shahdara police station. The officers were transferred after an advocate allegedly suffered a serious head injury during a scuffle at the station on October 23.
The incident had led to an indefinite strike by lawyers from Delhi district courts. The lawyers had demanded action against the officers concerned and ended the strike after the transfer orders were issued on October 28.
Messages circulated in Delhi Police WhatsApp groups subsequently called on personnel to assemble outside police headquarters at 8 am on November 2. The proposed gathering was intended to support the two transferred officers and seek the restoration of their earlier postings. The police personnel had earlier expressed a desire to meet the police commissioner and hold an interactive session on November 2.
In a video circulated on October 31, ACP Vashistha thanked colleagues for their support and said he would join the proposed gathering. He also suggested that police personnel should seek an open discussion with the police commissioner, noting that they were members of a disciplined force. Vashistha additionally sought the option of joining the interaction through videoconferencing for personnel unable to attend in person.
The circular directs every district and traffic wing to nominate 20 personnel for the November 3 programme. Each delegation will include three inspectors, seven upper subordinates and 10 lower subordinates. The Crime Branch and Anti-Narcotics Task Force have been asked to nominate 15 personnel each, comprising two inspectors, three upper subordinates and 10 lower subordinates.
Specialised units, including the Special Branch, Special Cell, Vigilance, Delhi Police Academy, SPUWAC, SPUNER, Security, FRRO and IFSO, have been instructed to nominate 10 personnel each. Their delegations will comprise one inspector, three upper subordinates and six lower subordinates.
The nominated personnel have been asked to report to the reserve inspector of the 1st Battalion, Delhi Armed Police, at Utsav Sadan by 2 pm on November 3. Details of the nominated officers must be sent to the designated officer by 2 pm on November 2 for coordination and administrative arrangements.
Senior officers, including special commissioners of police, joint commissioners, additional commissioners and deputy commissioners of police from the North West District and Delhi Armed Police battalions, have also been directed to attend the programme. The circular does not specify whether the proposed November 2 gathering outside police headquarters will proceed separately from the Lieutenant Governor’s scheduled interaction.
