Delhi women's panel chief dragged by car for 10-15 metres near AIIMS, man arrested

Swati Maliwal, chairperson, DCW

Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal said she was dragged by a car for 10-15 metres when her hand got stuck in the vehicle's window and its inebriated driver drove on, outside AIIMS in the wee hours of Thursday. A 47-year-old man living in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar has been arrested following the incident which took place of the day.

The incident

Maliwal said she was out in the night to inspect the state of women security in Delhi along with her team, in the wake of the Kanjhawla hit-and-drag incident in which a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death while trapped under a car. Her team was stationed at some distance.

"If the DCW chief isn't safe in Delhi, one can imagine how unsafe Delhi is for women," she tweeted about the incident in Hindi. Later, the DCW issued a statement saying Maliwal was standing at a bus stop on Ring Road opposite AIIMS when the car approached her.

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"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.

‘Made vulgar gesture'

"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.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chandan 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.

The National Commission for Women has sought a report from the Delhi police on the matter. "@NCWIndia has taken cognizance of the matter. The Commission is seeking report from @DelhiPolice and writing to take strict action against the accused," it said in a tweet. NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted, "Shocking incident. NCW is seeking report from Delhi Police and writing for strict action against the perpetrator."

15m
Approx distance he dragged Maliwal

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