After journo alleges sexual assault by Delhi ACP, those demanding FIR booked

Around 20 people, some of them journalists and content creators, were detained by the Delhi Police on the morning of October 5 from outside the Parliament Street Police Station and taken to the Delhi Police Camp in Delhi Cantonment.

They had been sitting outside the police station, protesting against the police for allegedly not registering an FIR against Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vivek Bhagat. Bhagat had been promoted as Additional DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) before withdrawing from the role “of his own volition” pending a “full enquiry” in the case, according to a government notification. 

A female journalist has alleged that Bhagat sexually harassed and assaulted her while she was covering the October 2 protest near Jantar Mantar. The police, however, have registered an FIR at the Parliament Street Police Station against 17 of the 20 people detained. Beauty, a friend of the complainant, said at a press conference on October 5, “The police have not filed an FIR on the sexual harassment and assault complaint but have filed an FIR against our people.”

The 17 protesters were charged under Sections 223(a), 221, 132, 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act. According to the police, the protesters violated Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), formed an unlawful assembly, and allegedly attacked police personnel and damaged a bus.

On the night of October 5, Patiala House Court granted bail to 17 protesters arrested in connection with the Parliament Street protest. Four were released after furnishing personal bonds, while the remaining 13 were sent to judicial custody as they could not furnish the required sureties. They are to be produced before the concerned court on October 6.

The court also noted that two of the accused, Dharmender and Samarth, alleged that they were beaten inside the Parliament Street Police Station after their detention, and their MLCs (medico-legal certificates) recorded injuries. In the bail order, the court noted, “Since the accused, Dharmender and Samarth, have levelled allegations regarding custodial torture, let a report be called from the DCP, New Delhi, regarding the same.” 

Other detainees and their friends have also alleged that the police beat protesters inside a bus.

The detentions

Anil, who was present when the protesters were detained and also works with the digital outlet News Diggy, recalled, “We discussed asking the police officers for an update on the FIR. Around 7 am [on October 5], we asked them, and they stopped us there. We then came and sat there. Suddenly, some female police officers came and started detaining us. They detained some of the protesters, but I was not among them.”

The police also detained the woman journalist who had alleged that she was sexually harassed and assaulted by ACP Bhagat, although she was not charged in the FIR.

At the Delhi Cantt Police Station, around 20 people had been detained. Anil and Beauty, who are friends of some of the detainees, said that the police allegedly beat the protesters inside the bus. The detainees were taken to the Delhi Cantt General Hospital, neighbouring the police station. According to them and their friends, no MLC was conducted there, and they were given painkiller injections.

The detainees then told Newslaundry that they waited for more than five hours at the Delhi Cantt Police Station. The Delhi Police also called the complainant against ACP Bhagat to record some details. According to Beauty, the officer who approached the complainant was in civilian clothes, and the complainant would not speak to an officer who was not wearing a uniform. The police then took the detainees to Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in a bus for their MLCs, while the complainant and another woman were taken in a separate vehicle to Mandir Marg Hospital, where they underwent their MLCs and were later released.

The other 17 detainees were taken to Patiala House Court for bail proceedings.

The court proceedings

The defence argued that around 50 people were protesting, but only 17 were arrested. It also argued that no CCTV footage of the alleged incident had been placed on record and that the accused were young and not habitual offenders.

Four women, Anshika Gupta, Karishma Mehta, Sanju, and Kunjal, were released after furnishing personal bonds of Rs 15,000 each.

Of the 13 accused who remained in custody, Newslaundry identified the Instagram accounts of two. Gajendra Singh creates videos related to news, events, and protests, and is also associated with News Diggy. His personal Instagram account is restricted according to the IT (Information Technology) rules. Anuj Bhagat also makes videos related to news and explains viral videos on his Instagram account.

All 13 remained in judicial custody because the required sureties had not been furnished. Advocates Simon Farouqi and Chitwan Godara, who are part of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) legal team, informed Newslaundry that the 13 accused were to be produced before the concerned court on October 6.

Complaints against police personnel

The protest began on October 2 after Neha Bora called for a demonstration at Jantar Mantar. Some of the female journalists who went to cover it alleged that they were sexually harassed and assaulted by on-duty police officers.

Three complaints have been filed against Delhi Police personnel. Newslaundry has obtained copies of all three. The complainants are an independent journalist associated with News Diggy and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), another independent journalist, and a protester who is also a member of the CJP.

The first complainant is an independent journalist who is also associated with News Diggy. According to her complaint, she was reporting near Kerala House when she asked the police why Neha was being detained by a male police officer and not a female one. She alleges that a police officer, Vivek Bhagat, then sexually harassed and assaulted her. Her complaint goes on to note that she confronted him, but he dismissed it, after which some female officers came and surrounded her.

The second complainant, an independent journalist, has alleged sexual harassment while covering the protest at Ashoka Road. “I was recording the detention of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan when I felt someone touching my back,” she alleged in her complaint, adding that she turned to find an officer “standing very close” to her. According to the complaint, when she confronted the officer, he allegedly dismissed her claim.

The third complainant is a homemaker and a member of the CJP. She also alleged that she was sexually harassed and assaulted by a police officer. 

She said, “I was at Ashoka Road on October 3 when the police brutally detained everyone. I was hit from behind. I am not sure whether it was an elbow or something else. When I turned around, I saw that it was a male police officer. I called out to him, ‘Aapko sharam nahi aa rahi hai?’ [Aren’t you ashamed?] The police officer then pushed me. I informed the CJP group about the incident and filed a complaint.”

In her complaint, she also stated that the accused police officer was not wearing a nameplate, but said she could identify him from his face.

Delhi Police response

In a post on social media, the Delhi Police issued an official clarification, calling claims that female protesters were subjected to physical assault “baseless and misleading” and “factually incorrect”. The Delhi Police also issued guidelines for journalists covering protests. The guidelines state that journalists should carry a valid identity card, keep it visible at all times, not obstruct police operations, and maintain a distance while recording.

Newslaundry tried to contact the DCP, New Delhi, to seek an update on the case filed against the protesters and the allegations of violence against the detainees but received no response. Newslaundry also contacted the Delhi Crime Branch regarding the status of the sexual harassment and assault complaint but did not receive a response.

We will update the report once we receive their response.

This report was originally published by Newslaundry and can be accessed here.