DELHI POLICE PROTEST SPARKS POLITICAL MOCKERY OVER DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF DEMONSTRATORS

November 3, 2026

NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 3: A protest by around 100 Delhi Police personnel outside the force's headquarters on Monday triggered sharp reactions from Opposition leaders after two officers were transferred following a confrontation between police personnel and lawyers in Shahdara.

The protesting personnel, including women officers, demanded the reinstatement of Assistant Commissioner of Police Manasvi Vashishtha and Shahdara police station's former Station House Officer, Inspector Arun Kumar. Both officers were transferred on October 28 following an incident at Shahdara police station on October 23, during which advocate Lalit Bansal allegedly suffered a serious head injury.

The transfers came after lawyers accused police personnel of inaction and misbehaviour, launching an indefinite strike across Delhi's district courts. The lawyers subsequently called off their agitation after the two officers were transferred.

Opposition leaders seized on the police personnel's demonstration to question what they described as differences in the treatment of police officers and ordinary protesters. CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya criticised the police response to public demonstrations, drawing comparisons with the protest outside the headquarters.

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also mocked the situation, asking whether the protesting personnel would face police baton charges or detention. Other political and student leaders questioned whether the police would register cases against their own personnel or require them to furnish peace bonds for assembling in a restricted area.

All India Students' Association national president Neha Bora specifically questioned whether Delhi Police would initiate legal action against its personnel under the prohibitory restrictions reportedly in force around the headquarters.

The episode has brought renewed attention to the controversy surrounding the Shahdara confrontation, the subsequent transfer of police officers and questions raised by Opposition leaders over the handling of protests in the national capital.