Police register case in mass molestation incident

The Bengaluru mass molestation case had caused widespread condemnation from all quarters of society as several women were allegedly sexually assaulted on New Year’s eve. Many had started drawing comparisons between the South Indian city and Delhi. 

But days after New Year, another such case was reported in North-west Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar, near Batra cinema on Thursday, when a video shot on New Year’s eve, showed a woman allegedly sexually assaulted by a hundred strong unruly mob. However, due to the intervention of the Delhi Police, the woman managed to escape but the policemen were injured in return.  

The incident was reported around midnight when the police had received information about an unruly mob of revellers, comprising students, making a lot of noise during New Year.

The police had deployed an emergency response vehicle (ERV) in the area at around 12.15 pm. While she and her friend tried to navigate from the heavy crowd, the women was allegedly sexually assaulted by a group of unidentified persons. 

The policemen who were deputed in the area came to her rescue and later when they managed to free her from the crowd, they bore the brunt of the anger of the revellers as the crowd turned on the policemen and attacked them.

“We had been told by the injured policemen that they had tried to save the girl and her friend. They managed to escape but the crowd went on to beat the policemen who then sought shelter in a police chowki in the vicinity,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North-west), Milind Dumbre Mahadeo.

The policemen tried to detain some youth in the area but this invited the ire of the unruly crowd, who soon started to pelt stones and hurled abuses at the cops. The policemen who sought shelter inside the police chowki were pelted with stones and the glasses were shattered. 

The unruly mob was later dispersed after several forces of Delhi Police arrived at the scene. It took more than four hours to bring the situation under control.

“We have questioned more than 2,000 people in the matter. We also have a video of the incident which was captured on tape. Around 23 men were detained and later released on bail. We are waiting for the woman to come forward and report the case. A case has been registered under Section 354 IPC,” said a senior police official.