Delhi Police have registered a case against three people, including independent journalist, who had accused Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat of sexual harassment while covering a protest in the Capital on October 3. The FIR, registered on the complaint of the police officer, alleges caste-based humiliation, intimidation and obstruction of official duty.

Meanwhile, no FIR has been registered so far on the journalist’s complaint alleging sexual harassment filed over 10 days ago, which was transferred to the Crime Branch for inquiry.

The FIR was registered at Parliament Street police station late on October 13, after Mr. Bhagat submitted his complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi district, the same day. It names the journalist, Gajendra Singh of News Diggy and an unidentified person as accused.

The case has been registered under Sections 221, 356(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Sections 3(1)(p), 3(1)(q), 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

In his complaint, Mr. Bhagat, who is posted as ACP of the Connaught Place subdivision and belongs to Scheduled Caste community, alleged that the journalist made derogatory remarks about his caste and questioned his appointment as an ACP while referring to his nameplate in public.

According to the complaint, Mr. Bhagat and his operator, Constable Ravi Dahiya, allegedly heard the journalist refer to his caste identity and make remarks suggesting that people from his community were engaged in tailoring and weaving, questioning how he had become an ACP.

The officer said the alleged remarks were made at Buta Singh Roundabout on October 3, where police personnel had been deployed to manage a protest against the Election Commission of India. The demonstrators had gathered around 2:30 p.m. and were being asked to disperse in view of restrictions imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), according to the complaint.

Mr. Bhagat alleged that he initially ignored the remarks and continued performing his duty. He further claimed that around 3 p.m., while he was clearing a passage for a bus carrying detained protesters, the journalist accused him of sexually assaulting her. The complaint alleges that she and her colleagues, including Mr. Singh, repeatedly confronted him, asking how he dared to touch her inappropriately, thereby obstructing his official duty.

The officer also alleged that the journalist, Mr. Singh and their colleagues staged a protest outside Parliament Street police station at around 6:15 p.m. on the same day, raising slogans against him by name and calling him a “sexual predator” and a “potential rapist”. He claimed that the protests continued overnight and that posts and videos were subsequently published on social media accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The complaint also names Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) members Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, along with Ratna Singh, in connection with social media posts.

Mr. Bhagat alleged that the remarks and subsequent social media posts had caused him mental trauma and damaged his reputation.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

Following the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) decision to call off its 36-day Jantar Mantar protest, Delhi Police is likely to withdraw all FIRs registered in connection with the agitation, officials said on Saturday.

“The official communication is yet to come, but the FIRs are likely to be withdrawn now,” said Sachin Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), New Delhi. The officer, however, refused to comment on the alleged use of excessive force during the July 20 Parliament protest march, the identification of police officers who were in plainclothes and without badges, and allegations that women were harassed on that day.

Another officer said the police had identified at least 2,500 people through their facial recognition system for various offences linked to the Jantar Mantar protest. “At least 15 FIRs were registered, including those involving charges of attempt to murder, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt and 10 other sections. At least 22 FIRs were registered in connection with pickpocketing cases,” the officer added.

3 policemen injured

The DCP said at least three police personnel, including a Special Commissioner, were injured in fresh stone pelting allegedly by protesters celebrating Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation at Jantar Mantar. The police later resorted to lathi charge and tear gas shelling to disperse the crowd.

About 5 km from the protest site, the police carried out detentions of around 400 people over the past three days in the South East district alone for unlawful assembly under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Around 150 people were detained on Saturday alone.

“We were going to the protest when the police caught us at a picket near Hazrat Nizamuddin police station on Saturday morning,” said Arjun Kumar, a student who was going to the protest site with four other friends. The police later released them.

Meanwhile, the police said Instagram had become a major source of disinformation and that several AI-generated videos were circulating on various social media platforms during the protest.

“There are several AI-generated deepfake videos, such as those of Sonam Wangchuk and Army Lieutenant-General Rajeev Puri. These videos show partial information with deformed content to misguide people,” said Rohit Rajbir Singh, DCP, Central district.