DCW chief molested, dragged by a car in Delhi

Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal alleged a drunk man molested her in the early hours of Thursday and dragged her by his car for 10-15 metres outside AIIMS with her hand stuck in the vehicle's window as he drove on. The police arrested the 47-year-old man living in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar later in the day. After Maliwal's complaint, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked Lt Governor V K Saxena to leave politics aside and focus on taking care of the law and order situation in the capital.

Maliwal said she was out in the night to inspect the state of women's security in Delhi along with her team in the wake of the Kanjhawala hit-and-drag incident where a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death while trapped under a car in the national capital. Maliwal's team was with her during the inspection, although it was stationed at some distance.

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"Last night, I was inspecting the situation of women safety in Delhi. A car driver, in an inebriated condition, harassed me, and when I caught hold of him, he rolled up the window pane 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.

In a statement, the DCW said Maliwal was standing at a bus stop on 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.

DCP (South) Chandan Chowdhary said a patrol vehicle spotted her on the pavement opposite AIIMS 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 based on Maliwal's complaint.

The DCW said Maliwal visited Kanjhawala, Munirka, Mundka and Hauz Khas following the Kanjhawla case, where she observed dark spots and the deployment of police personnel. She also stopped at several bus stops at night and observed the safety situation, it added. The National Commission for Women has sought a report from the Delhi Police on the matter.