Swati Maliwal
Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson was allegedly dragged by a drunk driver and dragged for 10-20 meters after her hand got stuck in his car’s window in the early hours of January 19 near AIIMS Hospital in South Delhi, police said.
Officials said a patrol vehicle spotted her on the pavement opposite AIIMS around 3.05 am and later stopped to enquire if she was in distress. Swati Maliwal narrated her ordeal, following which the vehicle was tracked down and its driver who was identified as 47-year-old man Harish Chandra, a resident of Sangam Vihar, who was later apprehended, The police further said the accused was driving a Maruti Suzuki Baleno, approached her when she was standing, the man approached her and when she tried to reprimand him, he pulled the glass window up, resulting in Maliwal’s hand getting stuck in the window, said the DCP of South District, Chandan Chowdhary, who further added that Swati Maliwal was dragged for 10-15 meters.
He said a case was registered against the same under IPC Section 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 at Kotla Mubarakpur based on a complaint from the DCW chief.
NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted- “Shocking incident. NCW is seeking a report from Delhi Police and writing for strict action against the perpetrator”.
Swati Maliwal said in a tweet (originally in Hindi) that raised important questions about women’s safety in Delhi- “I was inspecting the state of women’s safety in Delhi last night. A drunken man in a car misbehaved with me and when I caught him, he stuck my hand in the window glass and dragged me. God saved my life”. This incident has made waves on social media and all news platforms and it has parallels to the Anjali case as well, which unfortunately culminated in disaster, something Maliwal candidly referenced.
She further added-You can imagine the condition [of women’s safety] if the chairperson of the Women’s Commission is not safe in Delhi.
