# Fresh guidelines tell Delhi Police to stay calm during protests 2026-08-25T16:37:24+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Fresh guidelines issued to Delhi Police by a central agency advise personnel to remain calm during protests and avoid reacting to provocation. The guidelines come after allegations of police excesses during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar last month. 'Your anger is their satisfaction and content for them to portray you as villains,' the guidelines state. A senior police officer said the directions aim to ensure professionalism and restraint in crowd management. Personnel are told to assume their actions are being recorded on mobile phones and may circulate online. They have been advised to avoid unnecessary conversations, not respond to taunts or emotional appeals, and not accept flowers, food or other items from women protesters. The guidelines also say maintaining law and order should not come at the cost of public safety. Personnel have been directed to assist protesters who fall ill or sustain injuries and ensure unobstructed movement for ambulances, schoolchildren and elderly people. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The guidelines signal the Delhi Police's attempt to manage public perception after viral videos of confrontations at the CJP protest drew criticism on social media. Under the Delhi Police Act, 1978, the force is answerable to the Union home ministry, which can issue operational advisories. The key shift is the explicit recognition that protesters' filming is a tool to shape narrative, not just documentation. Similar restraint advisories were issued during the 2020 anti-CAA protests, but the current directive is more detailed, covering specific scenarios like accepting gifts. The next test will be how these guidelines are applied during the next large protest in the capital. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com Straightforward report of the guidelines and a senior officer's comments, with no editorial framing or judgement. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Cockroach Janta Party, Delhi Police, Jantar Mantar Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/fresh-guidelines-tell-delhi-police-to-stay-calm-during-protests/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/fresh-guidelines-tell-delhi-police-to-stay-calm-during-protests/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/