Senior Delhi police officers on Wednesday instructed lower-rank personnel to avoid posting any protest video, text or voice messages on police groups on social media meant for interdepartmental communication.
On Tuesday, after receiving messages on their ‘official’ WhatsApp and Telegram groups, scores of police personnel gathered outside the Delhi Police Headquarters in solidarity with their colleagues attacked by protesting lawyers.
Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik too issued a statement requesting the members of the force to maintain discipline. “I had appealed to you yesterday [Tuesday] that the common public are empathetic to our concerns and keeping this in mind, we should be disciplined. I am proud and happy that you all understood our deepest sentiments and remained steadfast in your duties.”
‘Dignity of uniform’
Mr. Patnaik added that the force got adequate relief from the High Court regarding the issues concerning the police-lawyer standoff, and assured that the Delhi Police will continue to take appropriate steps in this regard.
“On this occasion, I once again appeal to you to sideline all provocations and maintain the dignity of Delhi Police and carry on with your duties,” he said.
The police maintained that none of their personnel skipped duty to join the protest. “No police personnel left their duty point to attend the protest. All police stations worked smoothly and PCRs attended 5,000 actionable calls on Tuesday. Police personnel who attended the protest either had the day off or were on evening shift,” said a police officer.
A senior officer said that a video clip of 2.23 minutes was being shared on police groups. The clip included CCTV and phone camera footage of the November 2 incident on Tis Hazari Courts, along with subtitles, to explain that the police never instigated the violence.
“Taking cognisance of videos and pictures of police-lawyers clash circulating on social media, all district DCPs and heads of other police units have been asked to sensitise police personnel and ask them to refrain them from posting material that may cause harm to the dignity of the uniform,” said the officer.
Additional DCP (Shahdara) Rohit Rajbir Singh posted a video on district police WhatsApp group urging junior officers to avoid posting anything not related to work. “We are part of a disciplined force and we know how to maintain restraint during tough situations. All senior officers are very concerned about the phase the Delhi Police is going through,” he said in the video message.
