Delhi Police officer under fire after video shows him slapping female protester
Viral footage sparks outrage as opposition leaders, activists condemn police brutality
New Delhi: A senior Delhi Police officer has come under intense criticism after a viral video showed him slapping and assaulting a female protester during the police crackdown on demonstrators participating in the “Chalo Sansad” march in the Indian capital.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the video circulating widely on social media purportedly shows Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-East) Sandeep Lamba cornering and slapping the female protester amid the police action against students and youth protesting over the NEET controversy.
The footage triggered widespread condemnation from activists and opposition leaders, who said that the Delhi Police was using excessive force against peaceful protesters.
Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founding president Abhijeet Dipke said that Lamba was the same officer who had earlier climbed onto a truck to assault protester Geetanjali Wangchuk and later pulled her by the hair. “Sandeep Lamba is not mentally fit to serve in the police,” Dipke wrote on X.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra also condemned the incident, saying the officer’s actions could not be justified as merely “doing his job”. She called for legal action and public accountability, urging that those responsible for police brutality be identified and prosecuted.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal, while sharing the video on X, said that the Delhi Police used excessive force against peaceful protesters. “This is the true face of Amit Shah’s goons in uniform,” he wrote on X. He said that many police officers like Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba assaulted innocent girl students fighting for their rights, removed their identification badges, beat up minors, damaged vehicles and encouraged plain-clothed goons to attack peaceful protesters with batons.
The assault occurred during Monday’s police crackdown on protesters marching towards the Indian Parliament. According to reports, more than 100 protesters, most of them students and teenagers, were injured after police resorted to baton charges, tear gas and other measures to disperse the gathering.
Critics also recalled Lamba’s role in the Delhi Police investigation into the 2020 anti-Muslim violence in North-East Delhi, for which he was awarded the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Excellence in Investigation Medal.
