'Was it staged?' Netizens react after video of DCW chief Swati Maliwal being dragged by car emerges

New Delhi, Jan 20: A day after Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal had claimed that she was molested and dragged for 10-15 meters by a drunk driver opposite the Delhi AIIMS gate 2, a video of the incident has now emerged on social media.

One user commented,''She clearly puts her hand inside which made the driver panic.'' Another user said,''AAP came to Change Politics, now most dangerous and dirty Party.''

BJP claims video was staged to defame Delhi police

After the video of the incident went viral, the BJP claimed that the controversy was cooked up to lower the morale of the Delhi police. The leaked footage showed that Maliwal tried to remove the keys from the car involved in the incident, Delhi's principal opposition party alleged.

"Everyone knows the video was staged. It was staged to defame cops," the BJP claimed.

Following the incident, a 47-year-old man living in south Delhi's Sangam Vihar was arrested by police. According to police, when the accused identified as Harish Chandra pulled up the window of his car as Maliwal was rebuking him for asking her to sit in his car. A case was registered under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) and section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act at Kotla Mubarak Pur based on a complaint from the DCW chief.

Out to inspect women's safety, says DCW chief

The DCW chief said she was inspecting the state of women security in Delhi along with her team, in the wake of the Kanjhawla hit-and-drag incident in which a 20-year-old woman was dragged to death while trapped under a car in the national capital.

Maliwal's team that was with her during the inspection was stationed at some distance.

"Last night, I was inspecting the situation of women safety in Delhi. A car driver, in an inebriated condition, harassed me and when I caught hold of him, he rolled up the windowpane on my hand and dragged me along. God saved my life. If the chairperson of the women's commission is not safe in Delhi, one can then imagine the situation," she tweeted about the incident in Hindi.

Later, the DCW issued a statement saying Maliwal was standing at a busstop on the Ring Road opposite AIIMS when the car approached her.

"The driver rolled down the window and asked her to sit in the car but she refused. The man stared at her for sometime and left the spot but again approached her after a while. He again asked her to sit in his car but she again refused. He started making lewd gestures towards her," it said.

"When she approached him to reprimand him, he made a vulgar gesture towards her. When she tried to catch hold of him, he rolled up the window due to which Maliwal's hand got stuck in it. He then pressed the accelerator to drag her for several metres with the car. She somehow managed to escape," the statement added.

Focus on law and order, leave politics aside, Kejriwal hits out at Delhi L-G

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal targeted Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena over the issue while the National Commission for Women sought a report from police.

Chief Minister Kejriwal LG Saxena to "leave politics aside and focus on the law and order situation" in the capital."What happened to the law and order situation in Delhi? The morale of the goons has increased so much that even the women's commission chairperson is not safe.

"Only this work has been given to LG Sahib by the Constitution. LG Sahib is requested to leave politics for a few days and focus on law and order. We will fully cooperate with him," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

The National Commission for Women sought a report from the Delhi Police on the matter.

"@NCWIndia has taken cognizance of the matter. The Commission is seeking report from @DelhiPolice and writing to take strict action against the accused," it said in a tweet.

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted, "Shocking incident. NCW is seeking report from Delhi Police and writing for strict action against the perpetrator."