Three women journalists have filed complaints alleging harassment and manhandling by police. The complaints were sent to the Crime Branch, but no FIR had been registered.
A woman journalist who accused Delhi Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat of sexual harassment and manhandling while she was covering a protest was detained again on Monday morning, October 5. Fellow journalists and activists said she was taken to the Delhi Cantonment police station. Journalists and activists were meanwhile spending a second consecutive night protesting outside the Parliament Street police station, demanding that a case be registered against the officer.
The journalist alleged that Bhagat harassed and shoved her on October 3 as she filmed the detention of All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora during a protest calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. She spent several hours at a police station on Sunday seeking registration of a case. By Monday morning, Delhi Police had not registered a First Information Report (FIR) on her complaint.
Delhi Police said on Sunday that three women journalists had submitted complaints alleging sexual harassment and manhandling by officers during the protest. The complaints were transferred to the Crime Branch for a “fair and impartial enquiry”. No FIR had been registered in any of the three cases by Monday morning. A police official had earlier told The Hindu there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation.
A police official also told the newspaper that the officers involved were performing law-and-order duties and argued that registering cases against officers for actions taken in that role could deter them from working. Colleagues, activists and lawyers accompanied the journalist. The All India Students’ Association said she had been attacked and detained while seeking an update on her complaint, and called for her release and an FIR.
The complaints came amid broader allegations by women protesters about their treatment during the October 3 demonstration. The Crime Branch inquiry was ongoing, and its findings were not available at the time of publication.