The women were subsequently detained by the Delhi Police when they attempted to burn effigies at the BJP headquarters.
Visuals from the video
The Congress party has accused Delhi police of “manhandling” its women’s wing workers during a protest against inflation outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi.
A video of the incident shows a police officer tearing posters held by the women protesters and pushing them forcefully. Sanjeev Kumar, the station house officer at the IP Estate Police Station, was also seen pushing one of the protesters.
Defending the action, police claimed that the officer was trying to snatch an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the protesters. The women were subsequently detained by the Delhi Police when they attempted to burn effigies at the BJP headquarters without prior notice or permission.
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Swati Maliwal, the chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), took to Twitter to condemn the police officer’s behavior and stated that the DCW would issue a notice for action against the officer.
जिस तरह ये पुलिसकर्मी महिलाओं पर हाथ उठा रहा है ये बेहद शर्मनाक और ग़ैर क़ानूनी है। इस अधिकारी पर सख़्त कार्यवाही होनी चाहिए। दिल्ली महिला आयोग इस अफ़सर पर कार्यवाही हेतु नोटिस जारी कर रहा है। https://t.co/corYVV0wV7
— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) July 4, 2023
The police justified their actions by citing a violation of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which prohibits gatherings of four or more people in a specific area. According to the police, the protesters refused to comply with instructions to leave the area and behaved inappropriately. As a result, they were detained and removed from the location.
Later in the day, the detained workers were released by the police.
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