During the protests at Delhi Police headquarters at ITO, the protesting personnel were chanting ‘Humara CP (commissioner of police) kaisa ho? Kiran Bedi jaisa ho (How should our CP Be? Like Kiran Bedi)’.
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The police personnel were protesting after some cops were brutally thrashed by lawyers at Delhi’s Tis Hazari Court on November 2. Some police personnel were also seen holding placard that read ‘We need you’ with a picture of former Delhi Special Commissioner Kiran Bedi.
In fact, Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik was also booed at as Delhi Police personnel raised slogans of ‘we want justice’ outside the Police HQ.
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The reason police personnel reminisced about Kiran Bedi was the 1988 incident which also took place at Tis Hazari Court. In January 1988, Delhi lawyer Rajesh Agnihotri, was accused of stealing from a ladies common room from St Stephen’s College. On 16th January, he was handcuffed and produced at Tis Hazari court. Lawyers said it was illegal. The metropolitan judge discharged the lawyer same day and directed police to take action against the ‘guilty police officials’.
On 18th January, the lawyers went on a strike demanding action against the police officials. Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS, on 20th January held a press conference and justified the police action and criticised the magistrate order for discharging Agnihotri.
Read: Watch: Lawyers at Delhi’s Tis Hazari court take law into their own hands, beat up Delhi Policemen
Next day, some lawyers went to office of Kiran Bedi which was located in the same Tis Hazari complex to express their concern. Lathi charge was ordered on the lawyers and many were injured. For the next two months, lawyers stopped courts from functioning in Delhi and in neighbouring states and demanded Bedi’s resignation.
Later, Delhi High Court constituted a two-judge committee to look into the matter, following which the strike was called off. The committee reported that handcuffing of Agnihotri was illegal and recommended that Bedi be transferred.
Last week, Delhi Police officials were assaulted by Delhi lawyers over a parking spot dispute which turned violent. Later on Monday, an on-duty policeman was also assaulted by a lawyer at the Saket Court in Delhi. Several chapters of the IPS Association have also condemned the attack on the men in Khakhi.