ACP Vivek Bhagat
New Delhi: It has been four days since an independent woman journalist alleged sexual harassment by a Delhi IPS officer during the Jantar Mantar protest; there is no first information report (FIR) or an enquiry into the matter.
Rosy, an independent journalist, accused Assistant Commissioner of Police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat of touching her inappropriately while on duty.
“I was reporting when Delhi Police detained AISA president Neha Bora. There were women police personnel present at the spot. I asked ACP Vivek Bhagat about this. He squeezed my breasts and shoved me away. When I raised an alarm, he ran away,” she said.
Instead of initiating an investigation, the Delhi Home Department promoted Bhagat to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Addl DCP), evoking strong criticism.
The promotion has been put on hold.
On Wednesday, October 7, five press bodies – The Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India, Delhi Union of Journalists, Press Association and Kerala Union of Journalists – submitted a memorandum to Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar for an immediate FIR and an impartial judicial inquiry against the IPS officer over the allegations.
The memorandum stated that since the incident and protests that followed, including a sit-in outside the Parliament Street Police Station, where Rosy and two other women journalists were made to wait for hours, there has been no action, calling it a “clear violation of the law.”
“As you are well aware, it is a reporter’s job to be present on the ground, no matter how difficult or disturbing the situation is. And it is the duty of the police force stationed there to ensure that the press is allowed to do their job. Instead there is heavy handedness and even brutality in dealing with journalists. This is unacceptable,” the memorandum read.
The press bodies emphasised the hard work done by independent journalists through YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, an indispensable source of news and public commentary.
“Not all of these journalists, many of them women, have formal accreditation. Yet they should not be denied their right to report through writing, video, or photography due to unreasonable restrictions imposed by the police,” the statement read.
This post was last modified on October 8, 2026 5:34 pm