New Delhi: Thousands of policemen holding up placards with messages like “Save the Saviors” chanted slogans and shouted “CP saheb, samne aao, samne aao (Police Commissioner, face us)” outside Delhi Police headquarters on Tuesday, blocking one of the busiest roads in the capital in an unprecedented protest over clashes on Saturday between policemen and lawyers at the city’s Tis Hazari Court complex. The Union Home Ministry has been given a report on the violence and protests.
“We have to behave like a disciplined force. The government and the people expect us to uphold the law, it is our big responsibility. I urge you to resume duty,” Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik said when he emerged to address the massive crowd of policemen on the streets.
“In the last few days, there have been certain incidents in the capital which we handled very well. The situation is improving after that. This situation is like an exam for all of us and we need to have patience. We all should keep one thing in mind that we are here to protect the law,” he added.
He reminded the officers a judicial probe had been ordered and asked them to have patience.
Shortly before he spoke, one of the protesting officers told NDTV that if senior officials did not listen to their demands, junior officials were helpless.
“I can’t tell you my name. I have just come from night duty… only changed out of my uniform. The Police Commissioner has to listen to us… senior officers are like mother, father. If they don’t listen, then who will?” the officer said.
A woman constable at the protest was quoted by news agency ANI as saying she has felt scared ever since the Tis Hazari clash took place.
“Law is equal for everyone but the people who look after the law and work for it are not protected by the law. We have gathered here to get justice for ourselves. Once my police uniform used to motivate me to work but today I am too scared to walk out in this uniform. How will I protect the public if I myself feel so scared?” she asked.
“We enlisted to feed our families… not get beaten. All political parties… AAP and Congress… went to lawyers (who were injured) but never came to us. Our demand is that one-sided decision of the High Court be challenged,” a third officer said.
At least 20 policemen and eight lawyers were injured and 20 vehicles were vandalised in Saturday’s clash. That attack was followed by another violent confrontation, caught on mobile phone camera, on Monday, when a policeman was slapped and beaten outside Saket District Court by a group of lawyers.
On Saturday, lawyers and police clashed at the Tis Hazari court complex over a parking dispute. The lawyers alleged members of their group were injured after police opened fire but police said shots were fired in the air to “ensure the safety of undertrials”.
“In order to ensure the safety of undertrials, we fired in the air. The circumstances in which one of the lawyers suffered a bullet injury is being investigated,” a Delhi Police statement said.
The lawyers have claimed they have been unfairly targeted by the police; “They want to paint us as villains,” Mohit Mathur, who appeared for the Bar Council of India in Saturday’s hearing, said.
“Police are not even allowed to carry fully loaded weapon to court complex. Many protocols flouted… lady lawyers have complained they were attacked… one advocate was dragged by 14 police officers. It is all captured on CCTV footage,” he added.
Shocked by the incident the Delhi High Court took suo motu cognisance and held an emergency hearing on the same day. In the hearing the court came down heavily on the police force, transferring two senior officers, suspending two others and awarding compensation to injured lawyers only.
A judicial probe was also ordered.
Bar associations had condemned the Tis Hazari incident and called for a one-day strike across all district courts in Delhi. The strike was later called off by the Bar Council of India (BCI) after the High Court’s orders, which it described as “historic”.
The BCI reminded its members of that today, asking them to maintain peace and resume court work.
Union Minister of State Kiren Rijiju reacted to today’s protest by saying that being a cop was a thankless job, in a tweet that was later deleted.
“Being a cop is a thankless job. But they don’t do it for thanks. Police officers put their lives on the line every day. They are damned if they do, and damned even if they don’t. What gets lost in all the anti-police rhetoric is the family left at home while a policeman serves,” Rijiju, the Minister of State for Youth and Sports Affairs, wrote in the now-deleted tweet.
The Indian Police Service (IPS) has tweeted in support of its Delhi colleagues, saying police officers across the country supported their action.
“Incident involving police and lawyers unfortunate. All should take a balanced view of it based on facts in public domain. Countrywide, police stands in solidarity with those police personnel subjected to physical assault and humiliation. Condemn all attempts to break law, by anyone!” the tweet reads.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala has also backed the protesting police, criticising the BJP government at the centre, which controls police in Delhi, for a “new low”.
“A new low in 72 years – police on protest in National Capital of Delhi. Is this BJP’s ‘New India’? Where will BJP take the country? Where is India’s HM, Sh. Amit Shah,” he posted on Twitter.
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