NEW DELHI: A woman who raised her voice against sale of illegal liquor in north west Delhi's Narela was beaten mercilessly by a group of women, inviting the ire of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) over "complete lawlessness and zero fear of law" in the area.
Even Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday tweeted about the incident, saying its was "utterly shocking and shameful that this is happening in the capital of India. I urge Hon'ble LG to immediately intervene, take action against local policemen and ensure everyone's safety"
Police said that on Thursday evening, the victim Praveen was assaulted by one Asha and other women of Sansi community in Narela, leaving Praveen with severe bruises and abrasions on her face, forearm and left hand.
A case under sections 323, 342, 354, 354B, 506, 509, 34 of the IPC has been registered.
DCP (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said that on Wednesday, around 7.30 PM, DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal visited a house in JJ Cluster, Narela, and raided the accused Asha's house
At the time, Asha's daughter Sweta was present at the house, and 312 quarters and 12 bottles of beer were seized from the spot.
Sweta was subsequently served a notice under section 41 of CrPC, as the sun had set and she could not be arrested.
"Two women Praveen and Sonia (member of Nasha Mukti Panchayat) were also present there and assisted police. The concept of 'Nasha Mukti Panchayat' was pioneered by SHO of Narela in these Jhuggi Clusters. Rakesh, Asha's husband, is also involved in 21 cases of Excise Act and Asha is involved in nine cases," said Gupta.
DCW further alleged that Sonia, one of its women volunteers, was assaulted by members of the liquor mafia in Narela on Thursday.
The Commission alleged that during the raid in Narela at places where illicit liquor is made, Sonia – who gave inputs to them during the inspection – was also attacked by a large mob of over 25 of people and was assaulted with iron rods.
The Commission also claimed that her clothes were torn and she was paraded naked in the area and the entire incident was filmed and shared in the area by the attackers.
However, the Rohini DCP stated that during the assault, the clothes of the victims were torn a bit but no on was paraded naked.
Gupta further claimed that no men were there at the time of the attack.
Late reports suggested that two women were taken into custody Thursday night and taken to the Duty MM for permission to effect the arrest, as the sun had already set.