Sexual harassment complaints against police sent to Crime Branch
A day after three female journalists accused Delhi Police officers of sexual harassment while covering protests against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar in the national Capital, Delhi Police on Sunday said they received complaints alleging sexual harassment by police officers during a protest in New Delhi on October 3, and that the same have been transferred to the Crime Branch for a “fair and impartial inquiry”.
The police said three female journalists made the complaints while personnel were managing the law-and-order situation during the protest. In a statement, Delhi Police said, “On 3-10-26, during the protest in the New Delhi area, while there was a law-and-order situation, allegations of sexual harassment were made by three female journalists against police officers. “New Delhi District has received their complaints, and the same have been transferred to the Crime Branch for fair and impartial enquiry,” the statement said.
The police statement comes against the backdrop of protests near Jantar Mantar on October 3, where demonstrators gathered as part of an ongoing agitation demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protests saw a significant police presence and multiple detentions as demonstrators attempted to reach the designated protest area near Jantar Mantar.
One of the journalists said that an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) sexually assaulted her during protests. She alleged that the officer touched her inappropriately and pushed her away while she was recording the police action. She also said that she and others then went to a police station to file a case, but claimed the complaint was not registered immediately.
According to the complaint, when she confronted him, the officer fled the scene. In another complaint, a video journalist said she was covering the protest on Ashoka Road at 3 pm. “I was recording the detention of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan when I felt someone touching my back with their penis and rubbing it against me. I moved sideways but still felt it on my thighs. When I turned, I saw a policeman standing very close to me,” the complainant stated. According to the complaint, when she confronted him about the inappropriate touching, he dismissed her allegation.
According to media, a female journalist said that an assistant commissioner of police sexually assaulted her when she was covering the protest. “Police personnel were detaining protesters, and there were no women police personnel present at the spot. I asked ACP Vivek Bhagat of the Delhi Police about the absence of women police personnel, following which he sexually assaulted me and pushed me back,” she alleged.
The journalist said she and others subsequently went to a police station to lodge an FIR, but alleged that no action had been taken so far. The Press Council of India expressed “shock and dismay” over the police’s treatment of journalists covering the protest and urged the Delhi Police to act on the complaint immediately.
“Behaviour of this kind cannot be normalised in a democracy. Journalists must be allowed to work freely, without fear, and document those who gather to raise various issues,” it said in a statement.
Earlier on Saturday, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had demanded answers from Union Home Minister Amit Shah on allegations of misconduct with women by Delhi Police personnel during the protest.
