Delhi Police use body cameras after journalists allege sexual harassment at protest

Delhi Police officers deployed at an opposition protest on Tuesday wore body cameras, days after three women journalists alleged that police personnel sexually harassed them while they covered an earlier demonstration at Jantar Mantar.

The journalists said the harassment occurred during an October 3 protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the revision of voter rolls. One journalist accused Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat of groping her as she filmed a student leader being detained. Videos from the demonstration showed protesters being dragged away, while an activist told Reuters that police pulled her by the hair.

Delhi Police said the New Delhi district had received the journalists’ complaints and transferred them to the Crime Branch for what it called a fair and impartial inquiry. The Press Club of India demanded immediate action, saying journalists must be able to work without fear.

The Delhi government on Monday withheld Bhagat’s temporary assignment as an additional deputy commissioner of police. It said the proposal had been initiated on August 25, before the allegations, and that Bhagat had asked not to assume the additional duties until the inquiry was completed.

At Tuesday’s protest, senior officers were among those wearing body cameras. Police officials said the devices were intended to collect evidence and help establish what occurred during demonstrations. Opposition leaders were prevented from marching to the Election Commission headquarters, where police, paramilitary and Rapid Action Force personnel had been deployed behind multiple barricades.