New Delhi, Mar 9 (PTI) A Manipuri woman has alleged that she was beaten with a belt and attacked with a knife after she objected to sexual and racial remarks by a group of boys in a south Delhi park.
The police have apprehended four juveniles in connection with the incident that took Sunday evening in south Delhi’s Malviya Nagar near the Saket District Court Complex.
The woman and her friend had gone to the park for a walk and were taking pictures when around six to seven boys started teasing them with sexual slurs, the police said.
“When we objected and asked them to stop, the group allegedly became aggressive and called us ‘prostitutes’ while making racist remarks and using abusive Hindi slang,” the woman said in the complaint.
She alleged that the situation quickly escalated into violence. “They became aggressive and started physically assaulting me. They did not stop even after beating me.” She alleged that one of the attackers took out a knife and attempted to stab her, forcing her to run away from the spot.
“When I fell running, they took an iron belt and hit me on the back of my head, causing bleeding in my right ear,” she said.
The woman alleged that she and her friend begged the attackers to stop, but the assault continued.
“We were begging them not to beat us anymore. While we were running, we called for help, but nobody tried to stop the assault and harassment on us,” she said.
The woman said she had never seen the attackers before.
“For me, it was shocking: I do not know them, I saw them for the first time, how could they attack me in daylight!” she said, according to the complaint.
The local SHO and other staff rushed to the spot and met the injured woman after a distress call, the police said.
They said the woman told them that some boys aged around 15 to 16 years were there in the park and began passing abusive remarks and sexual slurs. When she objected, they allegedly became aggressive and started quarrelling with her.
According to the police, one of the accused hit the woman with a waist belt, causing minor injuries.
She was taken to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital, where doctors noted a slight laceration behind her ear and mild swelling with abrasion on the right chin, they said.
She was later referred to Safdarjung Hospital for further examination.
On Monday, the police filed an FIR in connection with the assault and nabbed four juveniles, three of whom are school dropouts, and one is a student of class 7.
The belt allegedly used in the assault has also been recovered, the police said.
The victim’s sister told PTI that the attack took place in a crowded and well-lit area and within minutes of the women entering the park.
“This incident should never have happened. Around 6 pm, my sister had gone to the park with her friend, who is a transgender person. It was a crowded and well-lit place. Within 15–20 minutes, a group of boys who were playing there approached them,” she said.
The sister alleged that the boys began harassing them and passing remarks about her sister’s body and northeastern appearance, and became aggressive when the women objected.
“When she confronted them about how they could use such abusive language at such a young age, they became even more violent. They started hitting her badly and punched her repeatedly. There is a green bruise on her face,” she said.
She also alleged that one of the teenagers whipped out a knife and tried to stab her sister, while others attacked her friend with a belt with metal spikes.
“We later got the case registered with the police. Everything happened very quickly, so she could not clearly identify how many people were involved, but she said there were at least six or seven teenagers,” she said.
The incident comes days after a married couple — Harsh Singh and Ruby Jain — was arrested in the same area for allegedly hurling racial slurs at three women from Arunachal Pradesh in their neighbourhood.
The couple allegedly made derogatory remarks about the women’s appearance and profession during a dispute over dust falling to their floor from an air-conditioner installation in the women’s flat above. PTI SSJ VN VN
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