A week after former chief of National Commission for Women V Mohini Giri was assaulted while trying to protect a girl who was being beaten, human rights activists alleged that policemen at the spot did not help the women and demanded serious police reforms.
According to Giri, she was returning home from her office, when she saw a girl being beaten by a group of men on the road near Vasant Kunj. When she intervened, she was also beaten up and received injuries.Giri alleged that a PCR van passed by, but no one came to their help. She claimed that a beat constable told her that she should not have intervened in the altercation.
However, police claimed the girl had injured a resident in the area with her two-wheeler and angry residents had assaulted her.
“As it is people don’t intervene when a woman is being assaulted. Why will anyone stop to help if this is the attitude?” Giri said on Saturday while speaking at a consultation of NGOs and lawyers at the Guild for Service.
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“There is a need to implement reforms suggested by various committees over the years. An independent inquiry commission to look into complaints against policemen should be put in place,” senior lawyer and human rights activist Dr P P Rao said.
The consultation included NGOs such as Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Jagori, AIDWA, Human Rights Defender, Centre for Advocacy and Research, among others. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves was also part of the discussion.
The NGOs have now decided to approach Police Commissioner B S Bassi and L-G Najeeb Jung for action against policemen who were present at the spot.
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