New Delhi: On Republic Day in 2022, ACP Vivek Bhagat led the Delhi Police marching contingent down Rajpath. He also recalls a very different assignment: supervising the investigation into the alleged rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Bawana around Holi in 2024.
Those two assignments span the ceremonial and investigative sides of policing. Bhagat’s account includes work in Alipur and Bawana, gang-rivalry murder investigations, robbery cases and commendations. His service record is now drawing attention amid a separate inquiry into allegations of harassment of women journalists.
Leading the Delhi Police contingent
Bhagat’s role at the 2022 parade is documented in the Ministry of Defence’s official parade announcement, which named him as commander of the Delhi Police contingent.
There is an earlier ceremonial milestone too. In February 2021, he received the best marching contingent trophy on behalf of Delhi Police alongside Special Commissioner Robin Hibu. The Defence Ministry’s record identifies Bhagat as the contingent commander and says Delhi Police won in the category covering Central Armed Police Forces and other auxiliary services.
Bhagat says he has also received the Commissioner of Police’s Commendation Disc and Commendation Roll, as well as a Commendation Roll from the Defence Secretary.
Gang investigations and a search beyond Delhi
During his postings as ACP Alipur and ACP Bawana, Bhagat says he supervised teams investigating multiple murders involving rivalries linked to the Jitender Gogi, Tillu Tajpuria and Neeraj Bawana gangs. He also credits his teams with working out several serious robbery cases.
Among the investigations he recalls is the Bawana child rape-and-murder case around Holi in 2024. Contemporaneous reporting placed the child’s disappearance on March 24 and described how CCTV footage helped police identify a suspect who had left Delhi for West Bengal.
A March 28, 2024 report, citing police, said investigators followed the train route and arrested the accused at Asansol on March 26. He was brought back to Delhi the following day. Police subsequently recovered the child’s body from a factory in Bawana.
Bhagat identifies the investigation as one he supervised during his Bawana tenure.
The inquiry remains a separate matter
As Delhi News Live reported earlier on October 6, the Delhi government said Bhagat had voluntarily requested not to take up temporary current duty charge as Additional DCP until the inquiry into alleged harassment of women journalists was conducted and satisfactorily concluded.
The government said its October 5 order would be revised to cover the remaining 11 DANIPS officers. It described current duty charge as a temporary arrangement carrying no financial benefit, with no authority to exercise the statutory duties of the regular incumbent.
