New Delhi:
The protesting Delhi Police personnel and their family members who had gathered at the force headquarters here raised slogans like ‘we want justice’, ‘who will protect the protectors’, ‘how is the josh? low sir’ and ‘we miss you Kiran Bedi’ to express their angst against their seniors.
The policemen who were protesting since morning refused to leave the spot despite repeated appeals by seniors including their boss Amulya Patnaik.
More than six appeals were made by senior police officers like Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) Devesh Srivastva, Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Anand Mohan, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central) Rajesh Khurana, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police RS Krishnia, but the protestors did not budge.
The protestors ended their stir late in the evening after Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Satish Golcha assured them that a review petition will be filed against the Delhi High Court order in connection with the police-lawyer clash at the Tis Hazari court complex, and ex gratia of at least Rs 25,000 will be given to the injured policemen.
The police chief assured the protestors that their demands are being looked into but he was heckled by his juniors.
“We have always been told about two types of crowd. The unruly crowd and peaceful crowd. We are protectors of the world. Who will protect the nation? We will. But who will protect us? No one. We will have to protect ourselves,” said a woman constable in her address to the gathering.
Lauding former senior Delhi police officers, the protesters chanted names of Kiran Bedi, a 1972-batch IPS officer who retired in the rank of DGP and served in Delhi as DCP, and Deepak Mishra remembering them as fearless officers who stood for their fraternity.
The agitating protesters carried a huge poster of Kiren Bedi that read “we miss you” and chanted slogans of “aa gayi aa gayi sherni aa gayi the lioness has come”. They placed it right on the top of the entrance of the PHQ building.
They also raised the slogan of “Delhi Police Zindabad”.
“The entire nation is watching us today. Even if it takes a day or more, we will not leave the protest unless our demands our heard,” one of the protesters said while addressing his colleagues.
“Our only weakness is that we don’t have an association. There is no one to listen to us. When we get thrashed, our seniors say, get medical aid and resume duty,” he said.
The agitating officers urged their co-workers, families and civilians to stand in solidarity with them.
“You citizens are our family. If you think we have done even one percent of good to you, stand in solidarity with us,” a woman constable urged.
Those spearheading the agitation urged their colleagues to maintain peace. “We want our demands to be fulfilled in a peaceful manner,” said one of them.
“Everyone has an association, even IPS officers have their association. We also want one. We protect the citizens and politicians. We stand for them? Can’t they stand for us at this hour?”
The placards they held had slogans like: ‘We want Justice’, ‘We miss you Kiran Bedi’, ‘We need heros like Kiran Bedi and Deepak Mishra. Not weak leadership’, ‘Save police, Save the khaki’, ‘Why no justice for police’.
‘If crime happened against you, who helps?’ ‘How’s the josh? low sir’ were among the other slogans.
“Police walon ki zimmedari ka bhi ajib fasana hain, teer bhi chalana hain aur parindo ko bhi bachana hai,” said a retired policemen.
Many protestors said they should also have the right to choose their leader. “Why can’t we choose our police commissioner? We want a commissioner like Kiran Bedi,” said one of the protestors.
