A day after AAP leader and Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chief Swati Maliwal claimed that she was dragged by a drunk drive for 10-15 metres by trapping her hand in the car window, BJP has accused her of staging the incident. BJP leaders have alleged that Swati Maliwal staged the incident with the help of ABP news to defame the Delhi police.
BJP leader Shazia Ilmi said that it is very unfortunate that Aam Aadmi Party and ABP news conducted a sting operation with the help of Swati Maliwal. ‘Their objective was clear, somehow defame the Delhi police, but this conspiracy by them failed completely due to the alertness of Delhi police,’ Ilmi said.
@AamAadmiParty ओर @abplive के साथ मिल कर एक स्टिंग ऑपरेशन किया जिसका मक़सद सिर्फ़ दिल्ली पुलिस को बदनाम करना था! क्यों कोई निजी चैनल एक राजनीतिक पार्टी के साथ मिल कर एक संवैधानिक पद -महिला आयोग की अध्यक्ष के साथ दिल्ली पुलिस के ख़िलाफ़ ऐसा षड्यंत् करेगा? pic.twitter.com/B2bUy5UwnZ
— Shazia Ilmi (@shaziailmi) January 20, 2023
The BJP leader added that the point to be ponder is, why a channel to increase its TRP or a political party for political benefits will use a serious matter like women’s safety. This is very serious question from a moral point of view, she added.
Another BJP leader Harish Khurana also made similar allegations of staged incident, questioning why Maliwal was doing at 2-3 am in the night by trying to pull out keys from cars. He also asked why Maliwal was silent for 14 hours. He alleged that the DCW chief was trying to hit the morale of Delhi police using the ‘staged video’.
The video of the incident has emerged on social media, and it does raise some questions. Many netizens pointed out that when the car stopped, Swati Maliwal went forwards to talk to him. When the car returned, she went to the drivers side to talk, when the driver allegedly trapped her by rolling up the window as she had allegedly put her hand inside the car, and the car drives away. However, the video stops at that time, it does not show Swati Maliwal being dragged by the car.
Kejriwal spends Millions on News Channels – gets 'em to live telecast his drama – Now #SwatiMaliwal allegedly has crossed all limit – doing such stings with ABP News pic.twitter.com/FdYkCGSE1s
— Mihir Jha (@MihirkJha) January 20, 2023
ABP News played this video in their report on the incident, along with other videos. The channel was accompanying Swati Maliwal on the night, and the channel said that the incident was caught on ABP News cameras. The channel also showed other footage from the night featuring the DCW chief.
While Swati Maliwal has claimed that the driver was forcing her to get into the car, the voice of the driver is not audible in the video. Moreover, it shows her approaching the car immediately after it stopped in front of her, and then she starts talking to the driver. Weirdly, when the driver offers to drop her, she keeps asking him where will he drop her. She then moves the driver’s side and asks the same question.
Several social media users have questioned what was the need for her to walk over to the driver’s side in the middle of the road, and then why put her hand inside the car. It is also notable that Swati Maliwal’s voice is unusually crystal clear and loud for a video shot from distance on a highway. Probably she was wearing a lapel mic, as the ABP news team was accompanying her in the night.
DCW Chief 'dragged & molested': BJP terms the incident as "staged."
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) January 20, 2023
Address the issue: @SwatiJaiHind slams 'victim shaming by the BJP'. DCW Chief further narrates the 'sequence of events'.
Listen in!@Aditi14Bhardwaj @Prathibhatweets | #SwatiMaliwal #BJP pic.twitter.com/VgogimrOxS
However, Swati Maliwal has denied the allegations, saying that she called the police immediately after the incident and got the driver arrested. She alleged that she is being questioned for being a member of AAP. She said that people who questioning her for moving to the driver’s side and putting her hand inside the car are indulging is victim shaming.
हमेशा की तरह घटिया सोच के Trolls ने Victim Shaming शुरू करी है। नशे में धुत आदमी महिला को छेड़ता है, रोके जाने पर गाड़ी के साथ घसीटता है लेकिन ट्रोल्स को वो भगवान लगता है! यही हर पीड़िता को झेलना पड़ता है! सबके घर में बेटी है, वो दिल्ली में अकेले सड़क पे होने का सच जानती है! pic.twitter.com/9dlndz02GR
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) January 20, 2023
The DCW chief said that she was patrolling the streets of Delhi in the night to access women’s safety issues in the city, and claimed that she experienced several unwanted attention from several drivers. While she said that the accused was arrested withing a hour, she complained that her call to police was connected only on the third attempt, and wondered whether other women victims will get so many chances to call the police.
It is notable that the accused identified as Harish Chandra, a resident of Sangam Vihar, was arrested immediately after the complaint was lodged with the police. The police informed that the 47-year-old accused was in an inebriated state when he allegedly misbehaved with the DCW chief, adding that he has been detained on charges of molestation and voluntarily causing hurt.
An FIR has been filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 509 (act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) as well as sections of the Motor Vehicle Act. Apart from arresting accused Harish Chandra, police also seized the car involved in the incident.
