A protest by serving Delhi Police personnel outside the force’s headquarters in New Delhi on Monday exposed internal discontent following the transfer of officers after a dispute at Shahdara police station. Senior officers appealed to the demonstrators to move inside and assured them that their concerns would be heard.
The protest followed a disagreement between lawyers and police personnel at Shahdara police station in recent days. After the dispute, Assistant Commissioner of Police Manaswi Vashisth and Station House Officer Arun Kumar were transferred. The transfers led to dissatisfaction among sections of the police force, according to a report by Live Hindustan – NCR.
Several uniformed police personnel and officers reached the area outside Delhi Police headquarters despite directions to district deputy commissioners of police and unit heads to prevent their subordinates from going to the headquarters. The personnel gathered to raise their concerns over the transfers and the handling of the Shahdara dispute.
New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma attempted to persuade the demonstrators to enter the headquarters. “I am appealing to you again and again to go inside. Whatever discussion can be held will be held inside and whatever solution emerges will emerge inside,” Sharma told the protesters, according to the report.
Vashisth, who was among the officers transferred after the dispute, had released a video on Saturday asking police personnel to reach the headquarters at 8 am on Monday and present their position before Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar. She was later seen addressing the demonstrators outside the headquarters.
“If we continue to suffer injustice ourselves, how will we deliver justice to anyone?” Vashisth said while appealing to police personnel, as reported by Live Hindustan – NCR. Her statement placed the protest in the context of concerns within the force over whether the disciplinary and administrative response to the Shahdara incident had been fair.
The gathering also drew a political comment from Neha Bora, chief of the All India Students’ Association. Referring to the restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita mentioned in the report, Bora questioned whether Delhi Police would register a case against its own personnel for protesting in an area where the provision was in force. She said the episode reflected a wider breakdown in the system.
The report does not specify the number of police personnel who attended the gathering, whether any arrests or formal cases were registered, or what decision the police leadership took on the transfers. The immediate administrative response remains centred on appeals for the protesters to move inside and discuss their concerns with senior officers.
