Women Journalists Accuse Delhi Police of Harassment at Protest

New Delhi (GNP): Three women journalists have accused Indian police officers of sexually harassing them while they covered a protest in New Delhi. The demonstrators were demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief.

The allegations emerged on Saturday, as police detained scores of protesters at Jantar Mantar, the government-designated protest site in the capital. Delhi Police said it had received complaints from the three journalists and had transferred them to its Crime Branch for an enquiry.

One of the journalists alleged that an assistant commissioner of police (ACP) sexually assaulted her while she was recording police action. She said the officer touched her inappropriately and pushed her away as she filmed. She also alleged that when she and other journalists later went to a police station to lodge a complaint, it was not registered immediately.

The Press Council of India responded by expressing shock and dismay over the treatment of the women journalists. It said such behaviour cannot be normalised in a democracy and that journalists must be free to work and document people raising issues without fear. The council called on Delhi Police to act on the complaint immediately and to ensure reporters can do their jobs without aggression or threats.

The incident unfolded against a wider political confrontation. Protesters rallied for a third consecutive day on Sunday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstrations began on Friday, with participants demanding his resignation over allegations of wrongdoing during a large-scale revision of voter rolls that has removed millions of names from the lists.

The protests spread beyond the capital on Sunday, when thousands marched in Mumbai calling for Kumar to step down. In New Delhi, activists, including supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), gathered outside a police station to demand action over the allegations against the officers.

CJP activist Saurav Das said on social media that a delegation, including the alleged victim, was inside the police station. CJP chief Abhijeet Dipke said the accused officer must be arrested immediately. The CJP began in May as a satirical online movement and later succeeded in a campaign to oust the then education minister. It has now called for a massive mobilisation of young Indians in New Delhi on October 10.

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Opposition politicians have added their weight to the demands. They accuse the Election Commission of India (ECI) of acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They have said they will march to the commission in New Delhi on Tuesday and hold “Save Democracy” rallies across the country afterwards.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, turned the spotlight on the police response. He demanded answers from Home Minister Amit Shah, noting that Delhi Police falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Gandhi said a female journalist had accused an officer of misconduct at Jantar Mantar. He alleged that hundreds of journalists had waited there for hours, demanding that a first information report (FIR) be registered.

Gandhi also alleged that hundreds of people were taken into custody at Jantar Mantar, that women protesters faced misconduct, that cameras were snatched and that journalists were dragged away. He said similar incidents involving women and police officers had occurred before, and that women and students across Delhi were protesting over their safety. He asked what the government was protecting by failing to register a woman’s complaint.

Dipke said, “Mumbai is out on the streets again for free and fair elections!”