Delhi policeman suspended for shouting slogans at CM's swearing-in

A Delhi police constable's over enthusiasm landed him in a soup when he was suspended for climbing a barricade and shouting slogans during the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet ministers.

The constable, identified as Rajesh Kumar, was posted with the fourth battalion of the Delhi Armed Police and deployed at Ramlila Ground on Saturday.

According to eye-witnesses, instead of performing his duty, Kumar allegedly flung his beret cap in the air, climbed the barricade and started shouting slogans supporting Kejriwal. He even demanded that Delhi police be brought under the aegis of the city’s government.

His colleagues had to intervene to bring him down from the barricade. He was then taken out of the venue, police said.

Kumar, who hails from Rajasthan and joined the police force in 2010, has been suspended and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against him for insubordination, they said.

A senior police official said that he was on duty when he performed this act and this amounted to indiscipline.

"If he wanted to express his personal views, he should have done it privately," he said.

Image: A supporter of the Aam Aadmi Party at the swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila Ground, Delhi on Saturday ' Photograph: Reuters