CPI MP asks Amit Shah to investigate Delhi police identification claims

Communist Party of India MP P. Sandosh Kumar has asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to order a time-bound inquiry into allegations that Delhi Police personnel removed or concealed their identity badges while detaining or using force against protesters. Kumar made the request in a letter after he was detained on Friday with CPI workers and members of the All India Students’ Federation and All India Youth Federation during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Rajya Sabha member alleged that Delhi Police had repeatedly responded to peaceful political mobilisation with violence, mass detentions, manhandling and internet shutdowns. He said the force should instead protect citizens exercising democratic rights at a protest site designated by the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal. Kumar cited the Supreme Court’s judgment in D.K.

Basu v. State of West Bengal and Delhi Police Standing Order No. 51.

He said police identification was essential for accountability when officers exercised coercive powers against citizens. “This is not a minor procedural matter: identification is fundamental to accountability when the State exercises coercive power against citizens,” he said. The MP asked the Home Minister to investigate the alleged use of force, arbitrary detention, removal or concealment of badges, manhandling of protesters, deployment of plain-clothes personnel and use of facial-recognition systems.

He also urged the government to ensure that officers deployed at Jantar Mantar remained identifiable and accountable. Kumar called for strict compliance with constitutional safeguards, Supreme Court directions and Delhi Police rules. “Democratic dissent cannot be met with methods reminiscent of the British Raj police,” he said, adding that the Delhi Police should protect citizens and facilitate their constitutional rights rather than intimidate or silence them.

The source material reported Kumar’s allegations and demands but did not include a response from the Union Home Ministry or Delhi Police. It also did not provide details of any inquiry already opened into the claims.