Senior Cop Sandeep Lamba, Recorded Slapping a Woman Protester, Removed from Jantar Mantar Duty: Report
New Delhi: The senior policeman who was seen in a video slapping a woman protester who was standing by the side of a road has been removed from duty at the protest site, Indian Express has reported.
Many have questioned how such a move can be considered punitive at all.
Additional DCP (North East District) Sandeep Lamba was identified as the policeman slapping a woman near Jantar Mantar. The incident can be assumed to have taken place at the time when protesters were moving towards the parliament and gathering at central Delhi in large numbers in answer to the Cockroach Janata Party's call to march there, asking for education minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation.
Police and security forces used tear gas and wanton lathicharge, beating up young people even when they say that they were not doing anything that could invite the use of force. Some videos showed women being sexually assaulted by policemen. There have been allegations of the use of pellet guns and nail-studded batons.
The video showing Lamba walking up to a woman standing almost alone by the side of a peaceful road, sparked evident outrage. The blow to the woman is so strong that she almost loses her footing.
Lamba is a Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS) officer. In 2021, he and his crime branch team won the Ministry of Home Affairs' award for 'excellence in investigation' in the Ankit Sharma murder case during the northeast Delhi riots.
At a hearing at the Delhi high court a day ago, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan mentioned additional DCP Lamba’s misconduct, says the Indian Express report. “The video shows specifically ADCP Sandeep Lamba – that is his name, his badge is captured – slapping a woman who is standing on the side and doing nothing. Let’s not be scared to name our thugs in uniform when they deserve to be named. He should be summoned here and asked to be accountable for his actions. It was completely unprovoked. These are the people we put in charge of our police to protect us,” Sankaranarayanan told the court.
Notably, as early as 2010, the home ministry had formed a task force to recommend an SOP to deal with public agitations. An RTI response obtained by Venkatesh Nayak said that at that time, the recommendation was that negotiation and mediation be prioritised above the use of force. The recommendations also have it that women and children be tackled with "restraint and sensitivity."
"Quantum of Force should be commensurate with the reaction from such crowd," the SOP says.
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