How 'sluggish' initial response may have led to Monday's mess at CJP-led protest
Police officers in Delhi have criticized the force's sluggish response to a protest march, noting that a lack of clear leadership allowed crowds to breach security perimeters. The report contrasts this recent event with past instances where police were given decisive, immediate orders to clear protest areas.
Why it matters
The incident raises questions about police operational autonomy and the potential influence of political optics on law enforcement decision-making during public unrest.
NEW DELHI: Monday’s mayhem during the ‘Sandad Chalo’ march witnessed “strange inaction” from the police during the “golden hour”, according to several officers.Although the agitation had been announced well in advance, and both Intelligence Bureau and Delhi Police’s intelligence wing had provided precise, actionable inputs regarding a massive build-up of demonstrators, the command centre remained largely silent during the initial, crucial window when the crowds first began to mobilise. Several on-ground personnel said they found themselves stranded without definitive orders from the police headquarters even as a crowd reached one of the gates of Parliament.A lack of clear instructions allowed the swelling crowds to breach key security perimeters, according to officers.“It could have easily been contained in the initial hour without any substantial force, but it was only around noon, after the situation had already reached a boiling point, that scattered instructions began to filter through,” said an officer.Rather than…
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