Three female journalists have alleged sexual harassment by Delhi police while covering street protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Delhi Police say a complaint has been received and referred to the crime branch for investigation. Thousands rallied in Delhi and Mumbai against a contentious voter-roll revision that the Election Commission says has struck about 130 million names. The Press Club of India and opposition figures have condemned the reported treatment of journalists.
Delhi Protests: Three Female Journalists Allege Sexual Harassment by Police During Anti-Election Chief Demonstrations
Young people have been protesting against large-scale changes to voter rolls by the Election Commission [EPA]
Three female journalists have accused Delhi police officers of sexual harassment while covering street protests in India's capital, organisers and media reports said. The allegations emerged after police detained large numbers of young demonstrators who had gathered to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Delhi Police said in a social media post that the New Delhi District had received a formal complaint and that the matter was being transferred to the force's crime branch for a "fair and impartial" investigation.
What Happened
Thousands of people assembled in Delhi and Mumbai for a third consecutive day to protest extensive revisions to voter rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Election Commission says the exercise aims to remove duplicate and ineligible entries and has so far struck approximately 130 million names from the lists.
Online video footage showed officers hauling people away from the Jantar Mantar protest site in central Delhi. The journalists' accusations include claims that some officers touched them inappropriately while detaining protesters.
Demonstrators scuffle with police during a protest in New Delhi over the alleged assault [Reuters]
"Police dragged me by my hair," activist and Jawaharlal Nehru University student Aahna Singh told Reuters, accusing the force of using "brutality" against demonstrators.
Reactions
The Press Club of India demanded immediate action over the complaints, saying it was "shocked and dismayed" by the reported treatment of journalists and warning that such behaviour must not be normalised in a democracy. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said women fear for their safety and urged the home ministry to "answer for this."
Protesters say the voter-roll revision will benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Election Commission rejects allegations of manipulation and says the SIR is necessary to update lists last comprehensively revised nearly 25 years ago.
The demonstrations have included supporters of the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). The latest protests followed a report in The Indian Express that two fellow election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had formally objected multiple times to decisions they said were taken without their knowledge—disputes largely related to the SIR process.
The Election Commission has defended its internal processes, saying differing views are part of decision-making and that its decisions were adopted unanimously.
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