New Delhi: The Delhi Police late Monday registered four First Information Reports (FIRs) against those who staged a dharna outside Parliament Street Police Station seeking action against an Assistant Commissioner of Police for allegedly sexually assaulting a female journalist during the protest in the Capital against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
A senior Delhi Police officer said, “We registered four FIRs and arrested 17 persons for illegally gathering outside the Parliament Street Police Station at a time when prohibitory orders had been imposed.”
Sources said the 17 individuals included 13 men and four women—Dharmender, Samarth Singh, Shekh Yunus, Aman Aggarwal, Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit, Adarsh, Sunny, Brajesh Pandey, Adnan Barmare, Anuj Bhagat, Gajender Singh, Anshika Gupta, Karishma Mehta, Sanju and Kunjal.
The police alleged that the accused “voluntarily obstructed Delhi Police Personnel while they were discharging their official duties to maintain law and order in the Police Station Parliament Street Area”. The accused “used criminal force/assaulted the police staff on duty to deter him/her from discharging their official duties, causing them injuries”, the complaint accessed by ThePrint read. The police further alleged that the accused were involved in the “destruction of bus no. DL-IMC-0423”.
The FIRs against the 17 include sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that deal with voluntarily obstructing a public servant in the discharge of their duties, assaulting or using criminal force against a public servant, joint criminal liability for every member of an unlawful assembly for offences committed in prosecution of their common object, rioting, common intention, damage to public property, to name a few.
In one of the FIRs, the Delhi Police has taken cognisance of the “attack with a knife” on a Central Industrial Security Force constable. In the complaint, the constable has alleged that a protester had attacked him with a knife. The constable alleged that the protester had aimed for his head but since he moved away, the knife cut through his right hand instead.
While all four female protesters who were arrested were released on Monday night, the 13 arrested men were sent to judicial custody for a day. Sources said the investigating officer had sought 14-day judicial custody, but the arrested women were granted bail on production of bonds. .
Abhish Thela, the legal counsel for those arrested will be presenting the bail bonds of the 13 arrested men on Tuesday morning, ThePrint learnt. “The police alleged that they had surveillance footage of the 17 accused causing a riot-like situation. However they could not produce any material evidence to prove the same,” said Thela.
Meanwhile, 72 hours since the allegations of sexual assault were levelled against ACP Bhagat, no FIR has been registered. “The case has been transferred to the Crime Branch and an enquiry has begun in the matter, but no FIR has been lodged yet,” said another senior officer.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)