JOIN USDelhi Police today registered an FIR against unknown persons following a complaint of harassment by some African women by a group shortly after Law Minister Somnath Bharti accused the foreign nationals of indulging in drugs and prostitution.
The FIR was lodged at Malviya Nagar Police Station following a direction by a city court. Bharti's name is not mentioned in the FIR.
Metropolitan Magistrate Chetna Singh had earlier directed that video footage of the incident in south Delhi last week be shown to the foreign nationals for identification.
Television footage on news channels had shown Bharti asking police officers to conduct the raid, saying he had received complaints of drugs and prostitution racket in that area. The women refuted the charge.
The court ordered the registration of FIR under sections 451 (house trespass), 427 (mischief), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
The women - two Nigerians and two Ugandans - had approached the court yesterday with the application seeking registration of FIR before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vivek Gogia, who refused to accept the application and directed them to approach the police for the same.
The magistrate told them that in case police turns down their request, they can file an appropriate application before this court.
They had alleged in their petition that they were subjected to a cavity search during their medical examination at AIIMS, which was an humiliating experience. They also complained that the minister and his people had asked them in public to give urine samples.
The women had earlier approached the Malviya Nagar Police Station seeking action against the men who had allegedly roughed them between 1 AM and 3 AM on the intervening night of January 15-16.
When asked about the matter, Bharti said, "The whole incident would have been recorded by the TV cameras present there. I don't think any of our workers hit anyone there or said anything to anyone".
"The biggest mistake being made by everyone is that no one is paying attention to the problem of drugs which is ruining our youth," the Minister said, adding, "A prostitution racket is being carried out in the area. Nobody is paying attention to that."
Bharti said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will release some information later "which will have many facts.