Former Aam Aadmi Party leader and Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women Swati Maliwal broke women safety laws today when she posted a child rape video on her Twitter account.
Today afternoon Swati posted a video captured with a phone camera showing an elderly person attempting to rape a minor girl. In the video, an aged man is seen with a small girl in a room where he was about to rape her. When he was in the middle of the crime, some people enter the scene and rescue the child.
Although there is no indication of the location where the crime happened, she assumed that it happened in Delhi and tagged the Delhi police asking them to file FIR immediately and arrest the man.
Even though the face of the girl was blurred in the video, it is still a very disturbing video, and laws make it clear that such rape videos can’t be shared online. When one comes across such videos, they are supposed to contact the police, not share it on social media. Being in the position of heading the Women Commission in Delhi, Swati Maliwal could have easily directly contacted senior officials of Delhi police. But she chose to share the video on social media, in clear violation of law.
This is a video from Hyderabad from March. This man was caught. And I am shocked that the Chairperson of the Delhi commission for Women is publishing a rape video on social media.
— Dhanya Rajendran (@dhanyarajendran) July 23, 2019
She also assumed it is from Delhi and didn’t try to verify it. Because, it has turned out that the video is from March this year, and it is from Moghalpura in Hyderabad. More importantly, the man seen has already been arrested by police and is in jail now. In the video below, we can clearly see the same man in police custody.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvMabl08wFI]
The 71-year-old Mohammad Jabbar had attempted to rape a two- and half-year old girl in an under-construction building on 6th March this year. Although he was caught by locals, he had managed to escape. But police managed to nab him two days later.
Swati Maliwal could have found out these details about the video easily, but in an attempt to create a sensation, she posted the video online.
This v disturbing video was viral on social media. Made my blood boil. Want the man 2 get strongest punishment. Shared video so that he is identified! However, hv deleted it & sought report from Police. Apologize if I have hurt sentiments. Intention is only to get justice 4 girl.
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 23, 2019
When several people including journalists asked her to do delete the video, pointing out that this is illegal and the case is old and the man has been arrested, she deleted it. But she ignored several people informing her that the man has been arrested, saying she has sought a report from police. When the perpetrator has already been arrested by police in a different state that does not come under her jurisdiction, one wonders why she is seeking a report from Delhi Police on the case.
