‘Clothes torn, hit with bamboo sticks, passersby looked on’: Two women allege molestation in Delhi’s Nehru Place
The four accused, who have been apprehended, have been identified as Md Fahad (28), Md Savej (28), Mohd Faheem (21), and Md Arif (33), said officers.
During the probe, police said they examined CCTV footage from nearby areas and identified eight witnesses and passersby who were present at the time of the incident. (File Photo/ Representative) A usual hangout at Nehru Place in South Delhi on Sunday allegedly turned into a nightmare for two women when a group of men molested and assaulted them even as passersby looked on. All four suspects identified have been detained and are being questioned, police said on Monday.
One of the women, who is from Assam, recalling the horror, told The Indian Express, “We just had tea at a stall near Eros Hotel and crossed over to get a bottle of water from another stall. Four men came on two bikes. One of them opened his shirt and started passing objectionable comments at us. Then, the others followed.”
As she protested, she added, a car arrived at the spot and the driver opened his gate. “The man (in the car) kept looking at my friend. When she asked him to move, he didn’t listen. So she started recording him using her phone camera. Then the other men who were passing objectionable comments earlier also came there, and slapped my friend. They also tore her clothes and when she shouted at them, they chased her with a bamboo stick. They molested her and used derogatory terms for us.” The other woman is from Bihar.
Most bystanders, the women claimed, stood around them and were busy recording the incident, instead of trying to stop the alleged assault and abuse. “We had to call the North-East Special Cell of Delhi Police for help,” she said.The Delhi Police Special Police Unit for North Eastern Region (SPUNER), formerly known as the Northeast Special Cell, is a dedicated unit designed to ensure the safety and address grievances of people from the Northeast living in Delhi.
The four accused, who have been apprehended, have been identified as Md Fahad (28), Md Savej (28), Mohd Faheem (21), and Md Arif (33), said officers.
According to the Delhi Police, a PCR call regarding the incident was received at Kalkaji police station around 7 am on Sunday. A police team immediately rushed to the spot — a tea stall at the Eros Hotel — and found the two women.
“The victims claimed that when they objected to the slurs, the men continued to make derogatory remarks and verbally abused them. A couple of more men joined the argument,” said a senior police officer.
The argument soon turned violent, said police. The women, they said, claimed they were abused, molested, and hit with bamboo sticks when they tried to get away.
Police said the women were taken to AIIMS Hospital, where their medical examination was conducted.
Based on the complaint and preliminary findings, a case was registered at Kalkaji police station under sections 115(2), 74, 126(2), 351(2), 78 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and investigation was initiated.
During the probe, police said they examined CCTV footage from nearby areas and identified eight witnesses and passersby who were present at the time of the incident. Officials said all eight persons were called for questioning.
As per the FIR, when the women were trying to escape from the area, the accused tried to stop them and threatened them of dire consequences. Mohd. Faheem, one of the accused, works as a cab driver, said DCP ( South east) Hemant Tiwari, adding that he was the one in the car who harassed them.
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