Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded answers from Union Home Minister Amit Shah after a female journalist claimed she was sexually assaulted and groped by a Delhi Police officer during a protest at Jantar Mantar. Demonstrations were held there demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after the Opposition accused him of irregularities during SIR and deleted votes to benefit the BJP.
In a post in Hindi on X, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said Shah must respond because Delhi Police comes under the Home Ministry. Gandhi’s remarks came as the journalist accused a police officer of misconduct and other journalists sat in protest, seeking registration of an FIR.
“A female journalist has accused a police officer of misconduct at Jantar Mantar. For hours, hundreds of journalists have been sitting there with just one demand: that an FIR be registered. Isn’t that the police’s basic duty? They haven’t even done that,” Gandhi said.
He said that on Saturday alone, hundreds of people were taken into custody at Jantar Mantar. “There are allegations of misconduct against women protesters. Cameras were snatched, journalists were dragged. And this isn’t the first time – we’ve seen video evidence of police officers engaging in disgusting misconduct with women earlier,” he said.
Gandhi alleged that women and students across Delhi, gripped by fear for their safety, were staging a satyagraha, but the police responsible for protecting them were instead raising hands against them.
“And a government that fears registering even one woman’s complaint – what exactly is it protecting? Delhi Police comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Amit Shah ji, where are you? You have to answer for this,” he wrote.
CJP AND AISA MAKE SIMILAR CLAIMS
Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das accused ACP Vivek Bhagat of misbehaving with a female journalist and touching her inappropriately.
“This is shocking! Why are the Delhi Police shielding ACP Bhagat? We stand with the female journalist. There should be immediate consequences for the police officer, beginning with an FIR and suspension,” he said.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the female journalist had been refused to file an FIR against the alleged misconduct.
“Just got a call from a female ind journalist. She said ACP Vivek Bhagat misbehaved with her & touched her inappropriately. She tried to file a complaint, the police refused it. Why is the local DCP trying to protect ACP Vivek Bhagat? Is that DCP Sachin Sharma, Amit Shah’s blue-eyed boy?” he said.
The Left-wing student organisation All India Students’ Association (AISA) also made a similar complaint, alleging that women protesters, journalists and lawyers were manhandled by male police personnel.
In its statement, AISA said, “Women protesters, journalists and lawyers were manhandled by male police. Several women have complained of being groped by male police personnel.”
It added, “A police force that claims to ensure justice to women cannot maintain basic protocols of crowd management. Male police officers openly abused women protesters and behaved in the most unprofessional way.”
– Ends
