New Delhi:
Amid a growing controversy over Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti's "mid-night" raid, the Delhi Police told a court in the city today that it need not file a second First Information Report or FIR in the case based on a Ugandan woman's harassment complaint as her statement has already been recorded.
An FIR has already been filed against the controversial "midnight raid" by Mr Bharti based on the complaint of another Ugandan woman, though he has not been named in it. The two Ugandan women are among a group of seven foreign nationals who have deposed in court in connection with the case. Some of them have identified Mr Bharti as the leader of a mob that allegedly beat and molested them. After the court was approached for a second FIR, it asked the police to explain its stand on the matter today.
In the court, the Delhi Police said a second FIR was not required in the matter because the petitioner has already been questioned by the investigating officer. But the lawyer for the Ugandan women told the media outside the court that his client is seeking a separate FIR in the matter. The court will hear his reasoning in detail on January 28.
Last week, surrounded by his supporters, Mr Bharti ordered police officers to raid homes rented by Ugandan women in his constituency, claiming that they were being used to traffic drugs and sex. Mr Bharti's supporters allegedly forced some of the women to give urine samples for drug tests. They later tested negative for drugs in a Delhi hospital.
The Ugandan women have also alleged that they were molested and beaten up by the mob which also hurled racist slurs at them. The mob was allegedly mobilised by the Law Minister. On camera, he is seen arguing with police officers who said they could not raid a house in his constituency or arrest the women because they did not have warrants.
Mr Bharti's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has defended him, claiming that in the unedited footage of his raid, he does not demonstrate racist behaviour, does not manhandle the women, and does not misuse his office as a minister.