DCW chief Swati Maliwal dragged by man on road outside AIIMS

Chandan Chowdhary, DCP (South), said, “Our special patrolling vehicle had made the PCR call after the personnel spotted a lady outside the hospital. She was identified as Swati Maliwal… She mentioned that a person driving a Baleno, who was drunk, stopped near her and asked her to sit inside… with bad intentions. When she refused, he left but came back again and once again asked her to sit in the car. She again refused and went near his side to reprimand him. The car driver quickly rolled up the window and her hand got stuck… She was dragged for 10-15 metres”.

At 3.12 am, the control room broadcasted the message about the incident and started tracing the car, said police. At 3.15 am, the PCR team asked police staff from Kotla Mubarakpur to find the car. Around 3.20 am, the ACP and the teams reached the spot. At 3.34 am, police said they found the car and caught the accused.

“On the day of the incident, he met two of his friends and the trio had alcohol near Sarojini Nagar. He was returning home when he saw Maliwal. He was trying to flee and we caught him,” claimed police.

Police said they took immediate action on Maliwal’s statement. “We have taken a written complaint from her. The driver of the vehicle and complainant was sent for medical examination. The accused has been arrested,” the DCP said.

Police said Maliwal was with her team when the incident took place.

Accused Harish Chandra, who was produced before Link Metropolitan Magistrate Akansha Garg has been sent to judicial custody till February 2.

Lawyer Satyendra Kumar Dhaka, who appeared for the accused at Saket district court, told The Indian Express: “We have moved a bail application. We told the judge that one section is non-bailable, but the maximum punishment may extend to seven years. As per the Arnesh Kumar guidelines, we are entitled to bail. We will raise these arguments before the court.”

Maliwal posted a tweet saying, “Last night, I was inspecting the situation of women’s security in Delhi. A car driver, in an inebriated state, molested me and when I caught hold of him, he locked my hand in the car window and dragged me. God saved my life…If the Chairperson of the Women’s Commission is not safe in Delhi, then imagine the situation”.

As per the police, currently, the accused doesn’t have a job. He earns a living from his rental properties in Delhi. He, earlier, worked at a telecom company.

An FIR has been registered under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 509 (act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and sections of Motor Vehicle Act.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned the law and order situation in the national capital. In a tweet, he said the “confidence of goons has increased so much that even the women’s commission chairman is not safe”.

Slamming Delhi L-G V K Saxena, he added: “LG Sahib is requested to leave politics for a few days and focus on law and order. We will fully cooperate with them.”