The Delhi police on Wednesday arrested four more women in connection with the abduction, sexual assault and public shaming of a 20-year-old woman in a colony in Shahdara last week, officers said on Wednesday. The police have so far arrested 13 people and apprehended three minors in the case.
In a related development, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Wednesday issued summons to the police seeking immediate protection for the vicitm.
While issuing the summons to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) R. Sathiyasundaram, DCW Chief Swati Maliwal sought a detailed action-taken report on the steps being taken by the police to ensure the safety and security of the victim and her family. The commission also asked the police to provide a ‘safe house’ to the victim, away from the locality where she was assaulted and where her parents live.
The summons issued to the police stated: “Delhi Police has been given 48 hours to appear before the commission with a detailed report on measures being undertaken for the safety of the survivor and her family.”
The police have also been asked to provide details of previous cases, if any, against the 16 accused, including three minors, pertaining to their alleged involvement in illicit drugs and liquor trade. The commission also asked the police to share details of any previous cases against the accused arrested in a separate case of harassment of the victim’s younger sister.
The victim, a married woman, was abducted from near her husband’s house, sexually assaulted, tonsured and paraded on the streets by the accused, all members of the same family, who blamed her for the death of their minor son. The DCW had issued a notice to the police asking them to take cognisance of the incident and arrest the accused, after which an FIR was registered and a probe was launched.
A Special Investigation Team has been formed to probe the case and all the accused named in the FIR have been arrested.
