HIGHLIGHTS

  • The victim has alleged her attackers were women involved in the illicit liquor trade
  • Police said the victim was a member of the Nasha Mukti Panchayat in the area and had assisted them at times in curbing the sale of illegal liquor in the slums

Representative image.

Woman assaulted, paraded in Delhi by liquor mafia

NEW DELHI: A 33-year-old woman was allegedly attacked with iron rods, dragged out of a house where she tried to seek refuge and her clothes ripped apart before being paraded in the lanes of a JJ colony by a group of women in Narela on Thursday. The woman, a volunteer with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), had been instrumental in getting a raid conducted on sale of illicit liquor in Narela on Wednesday.

The victim — mother of four children — has alleged her attackers were women involved in the illicit liquor trade. She has been admitted to a government hospital in central Delhi after being shifted from a local one.

The police, which has taken cognisance of the incident, said the victim was a member of the Nasha Mukti Panchayat in the area and had assisted them at times in curbing the sale of illegal liquor in the slums. However, the police denied that the victim was paraded naked, saying that her clothes may have got torned in the scuffle.

An angry DCW chairperson, Swati Jaihind, took to twitter to condemn the attack. She said the young woman had spoken out against sale of liquor illegally from a house in the area at a mahila panchayat organised by the commission in Narela on Wednesday. She then led the police, along with Jaihind, to the house where the team seized over 300 liquor and beer bottles.

Two videos and photographs shared by the DCW chief on twitter show the woman sharing her concern about illegal sale of liquor and then later crying inconsolably as she narrates her ordeal.

The woman’s mother-in-law told TOI that her daughter-in-law was in pain and had fainted in hospital. “My daughter-in-law was attacked brutally by some women who first followed her and then beat her up, tore her clothes and paraded her around. This is shocking,” she sobbed.

Jaihind had tweeteed: “A brave lady beaten and paraded naked in Delhi by liquor mafia, her video is made~all coz she dared to raise her voice against crime and helped DCW catch people selling illegal liquor in their home at 50 m from police chowki. Is there any law and order in Delhi? Shame @DelhiPolice”

Later, she issued summons to deputy commissioner of police (Rohini district) in the matter which pertains to Begumpur police station. The DCP has been asked to appear in person before the commission on December 12 or face action.

“In a most unfortunate and shocking development, one woman who gave inputs to the commission during the inspection was today attacked by a large mob of over 25 of these criminals and assaulted with iron rods. Her clothes were torn and she was paraded naked in the area and the entire incident was filmed and the video was allegedly shared in the area by these criminals,” said the summons. Jaihind has accused the police of not taking action to protect the woman and even accused it of “active connivance”.

DCW has sought an ATR, along with an FIR registered in the case of the attack on the woman and in the matter of liquor being sold illegally. DCP (Rohini) Rajneesh Gupta said the the attackers were women of the Sansi community. He said an FIR had been registered and efforts were on to arrest the accused women. The police said that the main accused, Asha, and her husband, Rakesh, have a criminal record and they had attacked the victim earlier as well. “Rakesh has 21 cases of bootlegging registered against him while his wife has around nine cases,” a police officer said.

In Video: Delhi: Woman whistleblower assaulted by locals for helping cops to bust illegal liquor sale