Delhi police call off 11-hr non-stop protest
Hundreds of Delhi Police personnel, who staged an 11-hour non-stop protest outside the police headquarters, demanding justice and protection, ended the high voltage agitation after senior officials convinced them that all their grievances will be heard and addressed.
They restive policemen were feeling outraged at the assault on their colleagues by lawyers outside the Tees Hazari courts in the national Capital.
Earlier, the policemen refused to listen to reason despite repeated requests from their boss; service rules bar policemen from holding protests.
The unprecedented demonstration had the Centre monitoring the situation by the minute and the eruption drew the attention of the courts. The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Bar Councils of India and Delhi.
Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, in turn, held a meeting at his residence as the situation seemed to veer out of control.
The home ministry had to be kept in the loop as by evening police personnel from Haryana, Bihar and several other states had extended support to their colleagues in Delhi.
More than anything, the optics of the protest left the nation shell-shocked. The Congress party, which supported the police protest, questioned the silence from Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Calling it a failure of the BJP and Amit Shah, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, ""Delhi police personnel are demanding justice, have been protesting for 10 hours, so are their relatives. Where is Amit Shah? Why isn't he finding a solution to this?"
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju initially tweeted that being a cop was a "thankless job", but the tweet 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," the deleted tweet read.
Delhi Police chief Amulya Patnaik promised a "fair probe", calling it a "testing time for us". But Patnaik’s words of advice didn't cut much ice with them and the policemen, carrying placards, raised slogans for hours outside the Police Headquarters.
A clear divide was visible with many protesting policemen alleging that the top officers had failed to stand by them even as they were thrashed by lawyers."If you beat up a cop in uniform, it is not the person who is beaten up but the uniform that is humiliated. This will only ensure breakdown of law and order," said a protesting police officer to media.As Patnaik left the venue, the number of protestors only swelled. Many family members and their kids too came to the venue sporting black bands, as a mark of protest."Whatever is happening to cops should not have happened. It's a fight for justice, it's a fight for dignity", said a lady who identified herself as a family member of a protesting cop.