NEW DELHI — Approximately 100 Delhi Police personnel, including women officers, staged a protest outside police headquarters Friday, opposing the transfer of two officers following a scuffle at Shahdara police station in which a lawyer sustained a serious head injury.
The demonstration, held on the footpath outside Gate No. 1 of the Police Headquarters, was triggered by transfer orders issued on 28 October in response to demands from district court lawyers. The lawyers had called for action against the officers involved in the Shahdara incident, which led to an indefinite strike that was only called off after the transfers were announced.
Protesters held placards and posters and demanded a Sampark Sabha — a public meeting — with the police commissioner to seek the restoration of the officers' previous postings. Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Sachin Sharma reached the spot and spoke to Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashistha, one of the transferred officers, urging him not to participate in the protest.
Sharma reminded the personnel of the discipline expected of a police force and told them they should not behave like protesters. He also asked some of them to accompany him inside the headquarters, but none agreed. No senior officer came out of the headquarters to address the gathering.
The incident at Shahdara police station has highlighted tensions between law enforcement and the judicial community, with lawyers demanding accountability following the altercation that left a colleague with a head injury.
