Delhi women’s panel chief dragged after confronting drunk man for lewd gestures
Swati Maliwal said she was accessing the situation of women’s security in Delhi when the driver, Harish Chandra, who was a drunk, harassed and caught hold of her
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal said a car dragged her after its driver made lewd gestures at her near New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the early hours of Thursday.
In a tweet in Hindi, Maliwal said she was assessing the situation of women’s security in Delhi when the driver, who was a drunk, harassed and caught hold of her. She said her hand got stuck in the car and she was dragged.
Maliwal said that god saved her life and added if she is not safe in Delhi, then one can imagine the situation of women’s safety.
Police identified the accused as Harish Chandra, 47, a resident of Sangam Vihar. They added he has been arrested.
Deputy commissioner of police (south) Chandan Chowdhary said a special police patrol reported that the man in a white Baleno made lewd gestures at a woman and dragged her at 3:11am.
Chowdhary added the patrol saw the woman on the pavement opposite AIIMS gate number two and stopped to inquire whether she was in distress.
Chowdhary said the woman was later identified as Maliwal, who told them the man was drunk and stopped near her. “He asked her to sit in the car with bad intentions. When she refused, he went and again came back after taking a U-turn from the service lane. He once again asked her to sit in the car.”
Chowdhary said the driver rolled up the car window and her hand got stuck when Maliwal went to confront him. “She was dragged for 10-15 metres.”