Man Accused Of Trespassing Forced To Walk Naked Allegedly By Delhi Cops

A man accused in a decade-old case relating to trespassing was paraded naked in southwest Delhi allegedly by police officers who had gone to arrest him. A lone CCTV camera installed in the area captured the incident that took place on Thursday evening.

The man, Virendra, had a warrant issued against him. He was taking a shower at his home in Inderpuri's JJ Colony when at least 10 police officials came to arrest him. When they were told he was in the bathroom, the cops barged in and dragged him out.

Virendra wasn't even allowed to wear any clothes and was forced to step outside naked, his family claims. As the police station was close by, there was no police vehicle and the group walked. Some of them weren't even in their uniforms.

The "naked march" left passersby shocked and disgusted. It is a human rights violation, the family said.

In the CCTV footage, a group of cops, including a woman officer, are seen walking him through a congested lane. A cop on a motorcycle, without helmet, trails them.

Virendra's wife, angry and embarrassed, ran after the police party holding a towel. She even pleaded with them to let him wrap the towel around, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, she said. An officer is seen clasping the towel in the footage, but the man wasn't allowed to cover up.

Meanwhile, the crowd, comprising women and children, continued to follow them.

The Patiala House court had issued a bailable warrant against Virendra two months ago. He was one of the accused in a case dating back to 2008, Mir Akhtar Hussain, Virendra's lawyer, said.

"He was supposed to appear in court today, however, the police arrested him on May 17. He was forced to walk naked and there were thousands of onlookers in the area. The police officers kept saying, 'he will walk naked till the police station'," Mr Hussain said.

Mr Husain said that he has informed the court and shown the CCTV footage following which the judge asked him to file a complaint. "We plan to approach the Home Minister, Lieutenant Governor and top police officers to demand action against the erring cops," he said.

The Delhi Police on Tuesday denied the allegations, saying that the towel-clad man, accused in over two dozen criminal cases, was trying to resist arrest when his towel slipped off.

"A non-bailable warrant had been issued against him, we had been searching for him but we couldn't find him. When he saw us, he tried to escape and while escaping, his towel fell," Delhi Police's Public Relations Officer, Deependra Pathak told ANI.

"To get himself out of that situation, he challenged the Police, who had him surrounded. As a last presort, he said he will strip down, and he did, wrapping just a towel around himself," Mr Pathak said, adding, "Despite all these antics, the Police proceeded towards doing the right thing, which was making the arrest, following which, his towel fell."