photo courtesy : Rediff
New Delhi, Oct 5: Three women journalists have alleged sexual harassment by police personnel while covering the October 3 Jantar Mantar protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Two days on, no FIR has been registered, and the case has become a test of whether women in the capital can rely on those meant to protect them.
One journalist told PTI that ACP Vivek Bhagat sexually assaulted her and pushed her back after she asked why no women police personnel were present while protesters were detained. The officer’s response has not been reported.
The New Delhi district police transferred the complaints to the Crime Branch for a “fair and impartial enquiry.” The journalist says no action followed when she tried to lodge an FIR. She was detained on Sunday and again on Monday, when she was taken to Delhi Cantonment police station.
Journalists and activists have spent two nights outside Parliament Street police station. Protesters say requested CCTV footage was not provided, and one alleged that a similar complaint against the same officer in July was never investigated. That claim is unverified.
An official told The Hindu that registering cases over actions during law and order duty could “deter them from working.
“Rahul Gandhi asked Home Minister Amit Shah to answer for the police, who report to his ministry. Priyanka Gandhi also criticised the lack of action. AISA said several women protesters complained of being groped. The Cockroach Janta Party’s Ratna Singh alleged detainees were beaten, which is unverified.
The Press Club of India expressed “shock and dismay” at the police’s treatment of journalists covering the protest and urged Delhi Police to act immediately on the complaint, saying such behaviour “cannot be normalised in a democracy.”
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