The Delhi Police said on Sunday that their complaints have been forwarded to the Crime Branch for a detailed investigation. Three women journalists have accused senior Delhi Police officers of sexual harassment during Saturday’s protest against the Election Commission at Jantar Mantar.
Quoting a senior police officer (asked for anonymity), Hindustan Times reported that an impartial inquiry was necessary as the allegations involved sexual offences against women and had been made against police personnel deployed on duty. On Saturday evening, several independent journalists and social media influencers protested outside the Parliament Street police station, demanding the registration of FIRs against the officers, including an assistant commissioner of police (ACP). “Today itself, hundreds of people were taken into custody at Jantar Mantar.
The New Delhi district has received their complaints and the same are transferred to crime branch for fair and impartial enquiry. Three women journalists have alleged that police officers deployed at the protest site touched them inappropriately while they were reporting on the demonstration. The inquiry would help gather relevant evidence and establish the facts surrounding the allegations. “A female journalist has accused a police officer of misconduct at Jantar Mantar. For hours, hundreds of journalists have been sitting there with just one demand: that an FIR be registered. Isn’t that the police’s basic duty? They haven’t even done that,” Gandhi posted on X. There are allegations of misconduct with women protesters. Cameras were snatched, journalists were dragged. And this isn’t the first time—we’ve seen video evidence before of police officers engaging in disgusting misconduct with women. Women across Delhi, students, are gripped by fear for their safety, staging satyagraha—but the very police responsible for protecting women are raising hands against them. And a government that fears registering even one woman’s complaint—what exactly is it protecting? Delhi Police comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Amit Shah ji, where are you? You have to answer for this,” he added. Police have registered three FIRs at the Parliament Street and Connaught Place police stations based on daily diary (DD) entries filed by police personnel in connection with the protest.
In a post on X, the Delhi Police said: “On October 3, during the protest in New Delhi area, while being in law and order situation, allegations of sexual harassment were made by three female journalists against police officers.
The cases were registered under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with “disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant”, HT reported, according to officers familiar with the matter.
