The Delhi Police finds itself at the centre of a controversy after a Delhi University student from Manipur accused them of handling a harassment complaint leniently. The 19-year-old complainant said that a man who allegedly tried to rape her got bail easily due to the lackluster approach by the police personnel. It took her seven hours to get a complaint registered after she managed to flee from the man who threatened to kill her at a secluded place, the girl alleged.
The accused in the complaint filed by the Manipuri DU student is a cab driver. Despite Delhi being ruled an unsafe city for women, is its police department in a state of slumber? Here is what we know so far about the controversial incident that has raised questions about the Delhi Police's effectiveness in ensuring women's safety:
- According to the complainant, on October 5, Saturday, she booked a cab using a popular online aggregator app at around 11.10 pm. She boarded the car from her rented accommodation near Delhi University North Campus to reach ISBT. The cab driver, who she identified as Vinod, was talkative during the journey, particularly asking about her personal life, the student said.
- As the journey progressed, Vinod took a route she was not familiar with which made her suspicious. Soon, her worst fears come true as the driver tries to molest her sexually. Driving the car to an isolated place, Vinod tried to rape her, the student said in the complaint. When she protested and put up a physical fight, he pulled out a blade and threatened her. The teenager mentioned in the complaint that the driver threatened that he could easily kill her using the blade in under two minutes.
- "I somehow managed to get out of the car and flee," PTI quoted the girl as saying about how her horrific night progressed. Soon after she was at a safe distance from her alleged assaulter, the DU student reached out to the North-Eastern State Helpline of Delhi Police.
- The helpline's response was lukewarm, the girl said. They just redirected her to the nearest police station -- Model Town Police Station.
- In the meantime, she had also figured out that Vinod was not supposed to be her driver that night. He was not the driver designated to her by the online app for the journey, nor did he own the car.
- When she reached the station, the cops on duty treated her with no urgency, she told the news agency. She was made to wait for seven hours to get her complaint registered. Yet, the FIR was so weak, allowing the culprit to get bail easily. The charges levelled against him were minor, she alleged.
- According to PTI, Vinod was booked on Monday under section 127 (2) (wrongful confinement) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. As no rape charges were pressed against him, he was granted bail on the same day.