Beijing Olympics boxer, Arjuna awardee: Under fire for evicting street vendors, Haryana cop Dinesh Kumar says he was taking action as per law

Kumar, 37, is a former international boxer who was recruited into the Haryana Police in 2008 during the tenure of Bhupinder Singh Hooda as chief minister. He participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and a silver medal at the Asian Games that same year. He is an Arjuna Awardee (2010) and Haryana’s Bhim award winner (2011).

Since the beginning of this year, Kumar has emerged as an internet sensation through several social media reels. He currently has over 44.9k followers on Instagram. So far, he has uploaded 120 posts on his Instagram.

Talking to The Indian Express, Kumar, who lives with his wife and two daughters and grandparents, said, “For my achievement in sports, I was recruited as a sub-inspector in the Haryana police in 2008 during the tenure of Bhupinder Singh Hooda as chief minister. I was initially posted in the sports centre, but soon shifted to the Sirsa district, where I stayed for nearly 3.5 years. I got promoted to the rank of inspector in 2011 and deputy superintendent of police in March 2023.”

About the recent controversy that resulted in action against him, ACP Kumar said, “Earlier also, a similar incident had taken place with me in Bahadurgarh in 2022. At that time, I stopped a municipal councillor’s son who was driving a vehicle with black film on the window glass. My team signalled him to stop, but he broke through the police checkpost and escaped. We chased him for 20-25 minutes and eventually intercepted him. I slapped him.”

“It resulted in a political outrage, and councillors and politicians met the then chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and got me transferred. I was shifted to the state crime branch, Panchkula. I was promoted to DSP there only during my stint at the crime branch. It was only in March this year that I was shifted back to Bahadurgarh,” he added.

‘Warned the street vendors 20 days ago’

He said Friday’s incident got blown up on social media, and that he had given the vendors a warning about 20 days ago.

“I had been requesting them to clear the road and shift their shops about 20-30 metres away from the spot because it was creating a traffic hazard. There are also two hospitals along the same road, and these vendors were causing persistent traffic jams, often delaying ambulances and patient transport vehicles. They did not listen. Eventually, we had to remove them forcibly. Somebody filmed it and uploaded it to social media. The result is in front of everybody,” said ACP Kumar.

Asked if he would stop making social media reels, ACP Kumar said, “Through reels, I am merely creating awareness among people. I am using this social media platform to highlight traffic and law-and-order rules and regulations, because the majority of people connect through this medium only. There is nothing wrong with it. I will see what I need to do next. Currently, will have to face the situation that has emerged.”

On Tuesday, a group of people took to the streets of Bahadurgarh, demanding that the police reverse their decision to transfer ACP Kumar out of the area.

Citing his competence and grip of the area as an officer, ACP Kumar said, “I have been in Bahadurgarh since March this year. There has not been even a single murder in Bahadurgarh. Not even a single gunshot was fired. Before that, there used to be an average of two-three murders every month. I maintained law and order in the area. I ignored my family, too. But have now been penalised for taking action as per law.”

ACP Kumar’s wife is a homemaker, and they have two daughters, aged nine and five. His father, Karan Singh, retired as an inspector from Haryana Roadways in 2014.

Senior police officers also came out in ACP Kumar’s defence. In a message responding to the viral video of the incident, DGP O P Singh wrote, “I have spoken with the Bahadurgarh DCP and the Jhajjar CP regarding the episode involving the removal of a vegetable vendor from the roadside. ACP Dinesh is an international boxer who joined the police force under the sports quota. His assignment was to keep the road clear, and he began removing encroachments with whatever resources were available. But when a bulldozer ran over a basket of vegetables, it was bound to make a story.”