Accused of misconduct and sexual harassment by a woman journalist during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat has filed a police complaint and claimed that she and others made casteist remarks against him.
He also said that claims of him being a sexual predator – made by her and circulated by others, including Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka – had damaged his reputation.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat claimed the journalist made derogatory remarks about his caste in public.
He allegedly overheard the woman making derogatory remarks about his caste in public, near the Buta Singh Roundabout, questioning his appointment as an ACP. He stated in his complaint that he ignored the remarks and went about his duties. She and her colleagues allegedly confronted him repeatedly, which, he claimed, obstructed his official duties. That evening, she and others staged a protest outside the Parliament Street police station, raising slogans against him and allegedly labelling him a sexual predator and potential rapist. The ACP mentioned in the FIR that the journalist’s complaint alleging sexual assault had been transferred to the Delhi Police Crime Branch and is under inquiry. Bhagat had first made headlines following a confrontation with a crowd during a CJP protest in the Jantar Mantar and Connaught Place areas in June.
The FIR, which has been accessed by NDTV, states that Bhagat was performing his duty at Jantar Mantar on October 3 in connection with the protest against Kumar and the Election Commission’s SIR process. Later, around 3 pm, the woman accused the ACP of sexual assault during the handling and detention of protesters. Days after the journalist made the allegations against the ACP, Bhagat was among 12 officers from the DANIPS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service) cadre who had been promoted to the rank of additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) on a temporary basis.
The Delhi government stated that the proposal had been initiated before the allegations were made, and later withheld the promotion.
