The Delhi Police on Monday promoted its ACP Vivek Bhagat, who has been accused of sexually harassing a female journalist during the ongoing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Bhagat, who was assigned to Delhi's Connaught Place, is now the Additional DCP, which the police force said was part of a routine order based on a request was sent a long time ago.
The temporary promotion order, signed by Delhi's Deputy Secretary (Home) Ramesh Kumar, comes amid a "fair and impartial" Crime Branch probe into the allegations against Bhagat, and quickly went viral.
"Rewarded for molestation?" wrote Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on X, questioning the promotion.
According to the female journalist who had specifically accused Bhagat in her complaint, the incident had taken place when she had been covering the detention of All India Students’ Association (AISA) chief Neha Bora, when she questioned why women police personnel were not present at the spot.
It was at this point that the accused allegedly molested her and pushed her back, as per her complaint.
Two other women journalists have also complained of alleged sexual harassment by police personnel during the same protest, which have been handed over to the Crime Branch.
Notably, the harassment claims have led to the protesters demanding justice for those affected alongside the anti-CEC protests.
The Delhi Police, however, rejected the claims by the female journalists on social media, calling them "baseless and misleading".
"Female protesters are handled by female staff and are treated with dignity and due regard. Detentions and releases are carried out in accordance with the applicable law and prescribed procedures," it wrote in an X post.
