Four more held for molesting Manipuri women

, Feb 3: Four men were arrested Monday for their involvement in the molestation of two Manipuri women in the capital, police said. Another accused, who was arrested earlier, was sent to police custody.

"Four more accused have been arrested for allegedly assaulting two northeastern women here," police said.

Police said they will disclose their names only after a test identification parade.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mor sent another accused Prem Chand to one day police custody after officials said he was required for further interrogation and to trace the other accused.

Seeking Chand's remand, police told the magistrate that the complainants also accused the men involved in the case of stealing a mobile phone from them.

Chand's counsel Vinod Gupta opposed the police plea, saying that stealing of a mobile phone was not mentioned in the complaint lodged Jan 24, and that the women disclosed it later in another supplementary complaint to implicate his client.

Police said the two women, in their late 20s, were beaten up by a group of men in Kotla Mubarakpur area of south Delhi on the evening of Jan 24.

On that day, one of the women had gone to buy some Manipuri herbs from a shop in the neighbourhood run by one of her acquaintances.

Meanwhile, a pet dog - being taken down the street - escaped its owner and while fleeing got its leash entangled with the boots of one of the Manipuri women.

The woman said she panicked and in a bid to get rid of the dog started kicking at the animal.

The men then started beating her, saying she had ill-treated the dog.

The other woman, who tried to intervene, was also thrashed by the men.

The men also passed racist comments against them, police said.

Prem Chand, the arrested man, is the owner of the dog, police said.

Meanwhile, one of the women's male companion recorded his statement before a magistrate here. The women's statement will be recorded Tuesday.

IANS