New Delhi: The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has taken suo moto cognizance of alleged sexual harassment with several girls in the college fest at IP college, Delhi University by issuing recommendations to the Delhi Police and IP College officials over the matter. As per a notice by DCW Chairperson Swati Maliwal to Delhi Police and IP College, the alleged incident was reported on Mar. 28, the accused men barged into IP college during a fest and molested several girls.
“They even allegedly shouted slogans, "Miranda IP dono hamara, Miranda nahi choda to IP bhi nahi chodenge," said the DCW statement. The Commission said that after the IP college incident, several girl students protested for many days against the alleged apathy of IP college officials and the failure of the system in protecting them.
Following the protest, Delhi Police registered an FIR in the matter on the date of the incident itself and the college forwarded 231 complaints and representations to it on 4th Apr. 2023. In its interaction with the survivors, the Commission learnt that four persons were injured, and a girl even sustained a fracture due to this harrowing incident.
As per the Commission, in the past too, similar crimes have occurred in other colleges in Delhi University including Miranda House and Gargi College. The fact that such incidents are repeatedly occurring in the Capital where girls are harmed in their own college fests is a matter of grave concern, the commission said.
Also read:DCW issues notice to Delhi police on trespass case of IP Women's College
The Commission said it has launched an enquiry into the issue and summoned senior officials from Delhi Police, IP College and Delhi University over the matter. The Commission said it has identified some glaring problems in the case which must be rectified at the earliest to ensure that such cases of sexual harassment in colleges are not repeated in the future.
As per the DCW, the Delhi Police was yet to collect and examine entire CCTV footage of the incident as told by the police officials to the Commission on Apr. 6. “It's unfortunate that despite passage of ten days, police officials had not secured CCTV footage of the incident from college authorities which is crucial in identifying the perpetrators of the crime,” said the commission.
The Commission said it again summoned the officials on Apr. 8 wherein the Delhi Police officials informed that CCTV footage has been collected from the college now, but the footage is incomplete, and they have contacted the college to provide them the complete footage. The DCW asked the Delhi Police to urgently collect and analyze complete CCTV footage of the incident so that the perpetrators are arrested.
The Commission also alleged that five accused persons arrested by Delhi Police in the matter were let off on the same date. It asked the Delhi Police to make efforts to identify all perpetrators in the matter and arrest them at the earliest. Besides, the Commission also expressed concern over statements under Section 164 CrPC not recorded for all survivors till date despite passage of 14 days since the incident.
The DCW asked the Delhi Police to urgently ensure that statements of all survivors are recorded under Section 164 CrPC.
