A journalist affiliated with the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has alleged that police officers deployed at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar took a personal day off to participate in a protest organized by the group, raising questions about the separation between official police duties and political activity at one of the capital’s most heavily guarded demonstration sites.
Abhijeet Dipke made the claim while reporting on a CJP demonstration held on Friday at Jantar Mantar, one of the designated protest venues in New Delhi. According to Dipke, several individuals approached him during the event, and he initially could not identify them because they were wearing caps, masks and glasses. The group, he said, eventually identified themselves as police officers who were officially off-duty and had come to the venue in a personal capacity to “talk” and show support for the CJP’s cause. Dipke did not name the officers or specify their rank, posting or home district.
The allegation comes amid heightened scrutiny of police conduct at protest sites in the national capital, where demonstrations over citizenship, civil liberties and other contentious issues have been a recurring feature of public life. Critics have previously accused security personnel of either excessive force or implicit political alignment in handling such gatherings, particularly during protests linked to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and related issues. The Jantar Mantar stretch, bordered by Parliament, the Supreme Court and several central ministries, is among the most closely monitored protest zones in India, and any alleged participation by on-post officers in an unofficial capacity would test long-standing rules on the political conduct of government servants.
Neither the Delhi Police nor the CJP had issued a public response to Dipke’s claims at the time of reporting. Press Council guidelines and the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, along with equivalent provisions in police manuals, generally prohibit government servants from participating in political activity or associating publicly with political causes while in uniform or while identifiable as members of the service. The enforcement of these rules, however, has historically been inconsistent, and there is little publicly available data on how many officers have faced departmental action for off-duty political participation.
Dipke’s account also points to a recurring problem at protest sites in Delhi: the difficulty of distinguishing between officers on deployment, off-duty personnel, and civilians who may have prior service backgrounds. Jantar Mantar is typically covered by personnel from the local police district, the Delhi Police headquarters security wing, and units drawn from neighbouring districts on rotation, particularly during demonstrations expected to draw large crowds. The presence of uniformed or masked individuals at a protest, journalists and civil society groups say, complicates crowd management and can heighten the perception of bias regardless of intent.
The CJP, founded by activist-lawyer Teesta Setalvad, has positioned itself as a civil liberties organisation and has been involved in a range of campaigns, including those linked to the aftermath of the 2002 Gujarat riots and, more recently, citizenship and minority rights issues. The group has organised multiple demonstrations at Jantar Mantar over the past several years, often drawing both supporters and counter-protesters and requiring additional police deployment. The specific theme of Friday’s demonstration was not detailed in Dipke’s account.
Reactions on social media to Dipke’s claim were sharply divided. Several users questioned why officers on sanctioned leave would choose to attend a politically charged event in a publicly identifiable location, while others pointed to the absence of names, badge numbers or photographic evidence as grounds for caution. A section of commentators argued that off-duty officers, like any other citizen, retain certain rights of political expression, although the service rules place explicit limits on association with organisations engaged in political activity.
Analysis: The episode, if substantiated, would point to a blurring of lines between law enforcement duties and political expression at a sensitive location. Jantar Mantar is a heavily policed protest zone, and the alleged presence of off-duty officers at a politically charged event would raise accountability questions regardless of whether their participation was formally sanctioned. However, the claim rests on a single account, and the officers’ identities, ranks and home districts remain unverified. Any assessment of disciplinary implications would require confirmation from police authorities, an internal inquiry, and clarity on whether the officers were on approved leave or had absented themselves without authorisation.
The matter also feeds into a broader debate about the conduct of police personnel at protest sites in Delhi, where the line between crowd management and political signalling has been a recurring point of contention. In recent years, the Delhi Police has faced allegations ranging from the use of force against students and journalists to accusations of bias in the handling of demonstrations by different political groups. Each new claim, even one that turns out to be unsubstantiated, adds to the pressure on the force to clarify its internal processes for approving leave, monitoring off-duty conduct, and responding publicly to allegations of impropriety.
What to watch next:
– Whether the Delhi Police issues a statement addressing Dipke’s claim, and whether it orders an internal inquiry.
– Whether the CJP confirms, distances itself from, or remains silent on the allegation, and whether Dipke or the organisation provides further detail on the individuals he interacted with.
– Whether any of the officers named, if identified, face departmental proceedings under the relevant conduct rules.
– Whether other journalists or participants present at Friday’s demonstration corroborate or contest the account.
– Whether the episode prompts a wider review of leave approvals and off-duty conduct protocols for personnel deployed at high-profile protest sites in Delhi.
Conclusion: Dipke’s allegation has placed a fresh spotlight on the conduct of police personnel at one of Delhi’s most visible protest venues. Until the Delhi Police responds and the identities of the individuals concerned are established, the claim remains a single-source account. The episode, however, underscores a recurring concern: that rules governing the political conduct of government servants are difficult to police in practice, particularly at sites where the boundaries between on-duty and off-duty behaviour are easily blurred.
Sources
Hindustan Times: Abhijeet Dipke claims cops deployed at Jantar Mantar took a day off to support CJP protest
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Story synopsis gathered from: Hindustan Times – India News — source
