Ghaziabad:
On camera, a young woman is slapped by a cop and then roughed up by other people as more policemen watch. The footage, from inside a Ghaziabad police station, has caused widespread outrage.
It has also sparked an intense debate with the police alleging that the young woman was found drinking in a parked car last night in a neighbourhood in the Delhi suburb and when confronted by local residents, "misbehaved."
The shocked 23-year-old held her face where she had been struck as she said, "They used filthy language. I reacted after that. If someone is abused repeatedly that person obviously has the right to object."
The police allege that the woman, a resident of Goa, was spotted by local residents last night sitting in the car with a 24-year-old male friend from Delhi and drinking alcohol, which is prohibited by law. The residents, they said, brought the woman and her friend to the Sahibabad police station, where she was thrashed.
The law provides that a woman cannot be detained at a police station after sun-down and a male cop cannot as much as touch her. The Ghaziabad police have promised action against the sub-inspector who struck the girl "if he is found guilty." Last night, a cop alleged that the woman and her friend were brought to the police station by the residents because "they misbehaved... and created a scene." He also emphasised that "they are still intoxicated."
Locals said that they initially tried to speak to the couple but she was "abusive" Eyewitnesses also claim that she even slapped a 60-year-old cop outside the police station.
The chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, Barkha Singh, has defended the police action and says she does not see it as highhandedness. "We scold and hit our children when they do wrong. If the police is taking strong steps to bring improvement, we must not criticise it. If the girl was drunk and the police had to take some steps, then I don't think that it is wrong," she said.
Former top cop Kiran Bedi says both sides broke the law and that must be noted. She criticised the way the police have handled the case, but also pointed out that drinking in a public place is against the law.
Last month, a senior policeman was suspended after he was filmed slapping a 17-year-old girl who was protesting against the brutal rape of a five-year-old in the capital.
It has also sparked an intense debate with the police alleging that the young woman was found drinking in a parked car last night in a neighbourhood in the Delhi suburb and when confronted by local residents, "misbehaved."
The shocked 23-year-old held her face where she had been struck as she said, "They used filthy language. I reacted after that. If someone is abused repeatedly that person obviously has the right to object."
The police allege that the woman, a resident of Goa, was spotted by local residents last night sitting in the car with a 24-year-old male friend from Delhi and drinking alcohol, which is prohibited by law. The residents, they said, brought the woman and her friend to the Sahibabad police station, where she was thrashed.
The law provides that a woman cannot be detained at a police station after sun-down and a male cop cannot as much as touch her. The Ghaziabad police have promised action against the sub-inspector who struck the girl "if he is found guilty." Last night, a cop alleged that the woman and her friend were brought to the police station by the residents because "they misbehaved... and created a scene." He also emphasised that "they are still intoxicated."
Locals said that they initially tried to speak to the couple but she was "abusive" Eyewitnesses also claim that she even slapped a 60-year-old cop outside the police station.
The chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, Barkha Singh, has defended the police action and says she does not see it as highhandedness. "We scold and hit our children when they do wrong. If the police is taking strong steps to bring improvement, we must not criticise it. If the girl was drunk and the police had to take some steps, then I don't think that it is wrong," she said.
Former top cop Kiran Bedi says both sides broke the law and that must be noted. She criticised the way the police have handled the case, but also pointed out that drinking in a public place is against the law.
Last month, a senior policeman was suspended after he was filmed slapping a 17-year-old girl who was protesting against the brutal rape of a five-year-old in the capital.
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