New Delhi: Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal on Thursday alleged she was molested by a drunk man while she was on an inspection at night, and dragged by his car for 10-15 metres outside AIIMS here with her hand stuck in the vehicle’s window.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena over the issue while the National Commission for Women sought a report from the police.
A 47-year-old man living in South Delhi’s Sangam Vihar has been arrested following the incident which took place in the early hours of the day.
The DCW chief said she was inspecting the state of women’s security in Delhi along with her team, in the wake of the Kanjhawala hit-and-drag incident in which a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death while trapped under a car in the national Capital.
Maliwal’s team, which was with her during the inspection, was stationed at some distance.
“Last night, I was inspecting the situation of women’s safety in Delhi. A car driver, in an inebriated condition, harassed me and when I caught hold of him, he rolled up the windowpane on my hand and dragged me along. God saved my life. If the chairperson of the women’s commission is not safe in Delhi, one can then imagine the situation,” she tweeted about the incident in Hindi.
Later, the DCW issued a statement saying Maliwal was standing at a bus stop on the Ring Road opposite AIIMS when the car approached her.
“The driver rolled down the window and asked her to sit in the car but she refused. The man stared at her for some time and left the spot but again approached her after a while. He again asked her to sit in his car but she again refused. He started making lewd gestures towards her,” it said.
“When she approached him to reprimand him, he made a vulgar gesture towards her. When she tried to catch hold of him, he rolled up the window due to which Maliwal’s hand got stuck in it. He then pressed the accelerator to drag her for several metres with the car.
She somehow managed to escape,” the statement added.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chandan Chowdhary said a patrol vehicle spotted her on the pavement opposite AIIMS at around 3.05 am and enquired if she was in distress. After Maliwal narrated her ordeal, the police tracked the car down and arrested its driver Harish Chandra.
Chowdhary said a case was registered under IPC Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act at Kotla Mubarak Pur based on a complaint from the DCW chief. In the statement, the Delhi women’s panel said Maliwal visited several places near Kanjhawala, Munirka, Mundka and Hauz Khas following the Kanjhawala case, where she observed dark spots and deployment of police personnel. She also stopped at several bus stops at night and observed the safety situation, it added.
In Delhi’s Kanjhawala, a 20-year-old woman was killed in the early hours of New Year’s day after her scooter was hit by a car, which dragged her for more than 12 kilometres from Sultanpuri to Kanjhawala.
Maliwal also added that during her night inspections, she observed several dark spots in different areas and will be issuing notices to the authorities concerned.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged L-G Saxena to “leave politics aside and focus on the law and order situation” in the Capital. “What happened to the law and order situation in Delhi? The morale of the goons has increased so much that even the women’s commission chairperson is not safe.
“Only this work has been given to L-G Sahib by the Constitution. L-G Sahib is requested to leave politics for a few days and focus on the law and order. We will fully cooperate with him,” Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.
The National Commission for Women sought a report from the Delhi Police on the matter.
“@NCWIndia has taken cognizance of the matter. The Commission is seeking report from @DelhiPolice and writing to take strict action against the accused,” it said in a tweet.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted: “Shocking incident. NCW is seeking report from Delhi Police and writing for strict action against the perpetrator.”