ACP Vivek Bhagat Steps Aside From Additional DCP Charge Pending Delhi Crime Branch Harassment Inquiry

New Delhi, October 6: The Delhi government has revised an order that had assigned current duty charge as Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police to Assistant Commissioner of Police Vivek Bhagat, after he asked that the posting be kept in abeyance until a Crime Branch inquiry into allegations of harassment of women journalists is completed.

Bhagat, who is currently posted as Sub-Divisional Police Officer, Connaught Place, was among 12 Selection Grade officers of the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Police Service (DANIPS) named in a Government of NCT of Delhi order dated October 5. Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu had approved the assignment of current duty charge of Additional DCP to the officers with immediate effect. The others named in the order were Dr Vikas Sheokand, A. Venkatesh, Gursewak Singh, Renu Lata, Vidushi Kaushik, Manu Himanshu, Sakaria Mihir Pravinbhai, Garima Tiwari, Ashish Kumar, Manish Ladla and Rohit Gupta.

Late on Monday, the government said the October 5 order would be modified in Bhagat’s case and reissued for the remaining 11 officers. In a post on X, it said Bhagat had, “of his own volition, has requested not to avail the current duty charge assignment, till a full enquiry has been conducted in the matter of alleged harassment of women journalists and such enquiry has been satisfactorily concluded.”

The administration also clarified that the proposal to confer the additional duty charge had been initiated on August 25, “much before the present set of events,” and that the final orders were issued after due approval on October 5. It further said the arrangement was temporary, carried no financial benefit, and did not allow officers given current duty charge to exercise the statutory duties of the regular incumbents. The order, it stressed, was not a regular promotion.

Bhagat’s letter to the police commissioner

In a letter dated October 5 from the office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sub-Division Connaught Place, New Delhi District, Bhagat wrote to Commissioner of Police Anurag Kumar consenting to the order being kept on hold in his case alone.

“However, considering the enquiry pending against me in the Crime Branch, Delhi Police, regarding allegations against me by a YouTuber, I hereby give my consent to keep this order concerning only me on hold,” he wrote. He also noted that the current duty charge had been approved through the order issued earlier that day.

Background to the inquiry

The Crime Branch inquiry stems from complaints linked to a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 3. The All India Students’ Association and other organisations had gathered there to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Neha Yadav said Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita had been imposed in the area. Protesters were asked to vacate the site and, after they refused, were detained. Around 6 pm, she said, three women who identified themselves as journalists filed complaints alleging that Delhi Police officers and staff had manhandled them during the detention process. The complaints were registered, medical examinations were conducted and the matter was referred to the Crime Branch for what she described as a fair and impartial inquiry. She also appealed for anyone with relevant video footage to share it with the investigating agency.

One of the complainants, a woman content creator, alleged that Bhagat touched her inappropriately and pushed her while she was recording the detention of protester Neha Bora. Other accounts have described the allegation as groping. The allegation has not been independently established and the inquiry remains pending. Three women journalists have accused Delhi Police personnel of sexual harassment and manhandling during the protest, and Bhagat’s inclusion in the October 5 order had drawn criticism from several quarters earlier in the day.

The revised order for the remaining 11 officers is expected to be issued shortly. Bhagat will continue as SDPO, Connaught Place, while the Crime Branch inquiry proceeds.