Gargi horror: Police register FIR, say they weren’t informed about the incident
New Delhi: Four days after some outsiders gatecrashed the annual festival of Gargi College and sexually harassed the students, the police on Monday registered a case of molestation, trespassing, and sexual harassment against unknown persons.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said the first information report (FIR) under sections 452 (trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of Indian Penal Code was registered at the Hauz Khas police station following a complaint from the college principal.
DCP Thakur said besides identifying and nabbing the suspects, investigators will also probe how the outsiders entered the college campus, despite the college administration deploying private security guards to screen students and other visitors at the gate.
Denying allegations that police personnel stood like mute spectators while the drunk intruders groped and dragged girls and performed obscene acts, DCP Thakur said, “Nobody informed the security personnel about the sexual harassment or called the police control room. Also, no complaint was filed at the police station regarding the incident till Sunday.”
“A fact-finding enquiry has also been initiated by additional deputy commissioner of police (south) Gitanjali Khandelwal, who will also be supervising the investigation,” he said.
Despite the college giving no prior information about the event to the police, more than 30 security personnel were deployed at the college during the fest besides some others in plain clothes, the DCP said.
A woman inspector, who probed the December 16 gang rape case, has been appointed as the investigating officer and she has already started speaking to the students who were allegedly molested and harassed, he said.
According to the police, around 20 CCTV cameras are installed at the campus. The investigating team has began collecting the video footage of the fest organised on February 6, to ascertain the sequence of events.
“We will also examine the college authorities to know how many entry passes were issued and to whom, the screening procedure, and who allowed outsiders entry to the event. We will also investigate whether the intruders were guests possessing valid entry passes or outsiders who illegally entered the college campus,” added the DCP.
DCW notice
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has also summoned the college authorities and Delhi Police on Thursday with detailed incident and action taken reports.