Arrogance of Power

In a brazen display of institutional impunity, Delhi Police Assistant Commissioner Vivek Bhagat—accused by independent journalist Rosie of groping her during the October 3 Gen Z-led protest at Jantar Mantar—was promoted to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police even as her complaint for sexual assault languished without an FIR.

Rosie alleged that while filming the detention of AISA president Neha Bora amid protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over Special Intensive Revision irregularities, she questioned the absence of women constables. Bhagat, she said in a video, “looked at me... grabbed my chest and pushed me.” She clung to his uniform; he fled toward female officers. Two other women journalists also complained of sexual harassment by police during the same chaotic dispersal.

Despite hours spent at Parliament Street police station demanding registration under the law—mandatory for such cognizable offences—no FIR was filed. Complaints were merely “transferred” to the Crime Branch for “enquiry.” Protesters and journalists sat outside overnight. Rosie was later among those detained. Meanwhile, a routine promotion order elevated the 2018-batch DANIPS officer, with police insisting the proposal predated the allegations.

Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, slammed the police for failing their “most basic duty.” Cockroach Janta Party activists called it shielding of a “pervert.” Delhi Police dismissed broader claims of assault on female protesters as “baseless,” claiming women are “treated with dignity,” while issuing guidelines for journalists covering protests.

This sequence—allegation of molestation by a senior officer, delayed process, rapid elevation—exposes the rot: when the force meant to protect becomes the predator, and promotion follows instead of suspension, justice for women journalists covering youth protests becomes a distant mirage. An independent probe and immediate FIR remain overdue.