Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday demanded an explanation from Union Home Minister Amit Shah after three women journalists alleged that they were sexually assaulted and groped by Delhi Police personnel during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
The journalists were among those covering demonstrations calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged that voters were deleted to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The Delhi Police said it had received complaints of sexual harassment from three women journalists and sent them to the Crime Branch for a “fair and impartial enquiry”.
“On 03-10-26, during the protest in New Delhi area, while being in law and order situation, allegations of sexual harassment were made by three female journalists against police officers. New Delhi District has received their complaints and the same are transferred to the Crime Branch for fair and impartial enquiry,” the police said on X.
Following the complaints, journalists at the protest site held a sit-in and demanded that FIRs be registered against the personnel named in the complaints.
Rahul Gandhi, in a Hindi post on X, said Shah needed to respond to the allegations as the Delhi Police reports to the Union Home Ministry.
“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.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha also claimed that hundreds of people had been taken into custody at Jantar Mantar on Saturday.
CJP spokesperson Saurav Das accused ACP Vivek Bhagat of misbehaving with a woman journalist and touching her inappropriately.
AISA also alleged that women protesters, journalists and lawyers were manhandled by male police personnel during the demonstration.
“Women protesters, journalists and lawyers were manhandled by male police. Several women have complained of being groped by male police personnel,” the student organisation said in a statement.
AISA further accused male police officers of abusing women protesters and questioned the manner in which the police handled the gathering.
The allegations have also drawn a response from the Press Club of India, which said it was “shocked and dismayed” by the treatment of journalists during the protest.
“Journalists must be allowed to work freely, without fear, and document those who gather to raise various issues. That this is not being allowed even at the heart of the national capital does not bode well for the trajectory of media freedom in India. Behaviour of this kind cannot be normalised in a democracy,” the Press Club said on X.
It called on the Delhi Police to act on the complaints filed by the women journalists and ensure that journalists covering protests are able to carry out their work without facing aggression or threats.
