Delhi ACP Manasvi Vashishta suspended: Police vs police protest, clash with lawyers and parking dispute EXPLAINED

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has suspended Delhi's Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Manasvi Vashishta, who led the protest outside police headquarters in New Delhi. The suspension came on Tuesday (Nov 3), a day after Delhi Police personnel gathered outside the police headquarters to protest against the transfers of Shahdara Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Arun Kumar and Vashishta.

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Why were they protesting?

On Monday 8 am, around 100 police personnel assembled on the road outside the headquarters on Nov 2, seeking a meeting with the Police Commissioner and an interactive session to raise their concerns over the transfers. Senior officers, including New Delhi DCP Sachin Sharma, were seen trying to persuade the protesters to take up their grievances with the Police Commissioner inside the headquarters rather than stage a roadside demonstration. While Vashistha was transferred from the post of Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) of Gandhi Nagar in the Shahdara subdivision to the Special Police Unit for Women and Children (SPUWAC), Kumar was moved from Shahdara police station to the Delhi Police Security Branch. The lawyers called off their strike after the transfer orders were issued. The protesting personnel demanded that the two officers be reinstated to their previous postings.

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What is the matter?

On the evening of October 23, the matter began as a parking dispute. Around 11:00 AM, a lawyer named Amulya Ratan Sharma’s relative parked in a his bike at the entrance to a local salon. The salon owner, Sheetal Thakur and her husband, Rahul, asked the biker to move the vehicle. A heated argument ensued thereafter. The salon owners allege that a scuffle broke out when they objected about the parking. They said that it turned violent when a large group of lawyers came to the salon as an act of retaliation, vandalised the salon and physically assaulted Sheetal - who is pregnant. They also allege that when they went to the police station to lodge a complaint, they were threatened by a larger group of lawyers and violent scuffle broke out again.

Lawyer's version

During this fight, advocate Lalit Bansal suffered a severe head injury. Police personnel had to physically intervene to halt the clash. According to the Delhi District Courts Bar Association, during this confrontation, ACP Vashishta allegedly brandished his loaded service revolver, threatened, and intimidated the advocates. Lawyers also said that he allegedly warned "goons in black coats" and mentioned AK-47s. The lawyers said that they entered the station because they knew the salon owners were present and wanted to ensure the police formally booked and detained them on the spot. The lawyers urged Delhi High Court to take suo moto cognizance of the matter. However, the court refused and a bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre instructed the lawyers to file a formal petition instead.

What is the police version?

The police department strongly rejected this narrative, countering that the lawyers barged in, threw false bribery accusations at the officers, and physically obstructed government work. Vashishta filed a cross-complaint against 15–20 lawyers for misbehavior. During their protest on Monday, ACP Vashishta and the personnel argued that the police force shouldn't be penalized simply for doing their jobs. Vashishta stated to the media that the police took a stand because it is vital to raise a voice against the "hooliganism" that ground-level cops face daily. The police version asserts that “if police stations themselves are not safe from rampaging groups, then no place in society can be safe.”

Why were they transferred?

The transfers were ordered on Oct 28, 2026 and the MHA stated that it was done for “violation of discipline.”