New Delhi
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Delhi Police personnel have been directed to modify their approach to handling protests with a new advisory suggesting that they should refrain from doing anything that can go viral on social media.
The directions come after complaints of police brutality against the protesters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar last month. Some videos of the protests had gone viral after both the protesters and the police were heard hurling abuses at each other.
Delhi Police issued an advisory directing personnel to avoid actions that could go viral on social media during protests, following past complaints and viral videos. Personnel are instructed to engage courteously, avoid taunts or physical confrontations, and maintain decorum as if constantly recorded.
The advisory said that in order to avoid getting involved in any row, police personnel should act as if they are constantly being recorded and should not engage demonstrators through “any kind of taunts, banter, songs, dance, placards, mock salute or any other mode of expression”.
The direction said that while talking to the protesters, police should restrict themselves to only courteous reminders to stop their unruly behaviour, and avoid arguments at all costs.
It also advised against “pushing away mobile phones, snatching or throwing any object or giving way to emotional outbursts or physical confrontation” except in cases of duty.
It also reminded the personnel to avoid being drawn into discussions about personal aspects like family members, pay and other personal affairs, and to keep their body language and choice of words appropriately decorous even when faced with deliberate provocation. The advisory also said that police personnel should not accept gifts like flowers and eatables from women protestors facing alleged police atrocities, as happened during the CJP protest.
The advisory, however, said that the police should not be indifferent to genuine requirements of the protestors. Police should help the sick and injured and ensure clear passage for ambulances, school children and senior citizens.
The advisory was also directed to the district, railways and metro police who interact directly with the public and whose actions could be immediately viral on social media.
It said that police should handle crowds without getting sucked into the chaos as both sides were likely to be recording each other on their phones, and cautioned that appropriate behaviour was essential in order to prevent an adverse reaction on social media.
