"Would Have Been Next Anjali...": Women's Panel Chief On Midnight Scare

Swati Maliwal, the chief of the Delhi Commission for Women, today shared what she called a horrific run-in with a drunk driver who dragged her after harassing her on the road at a prominent spot in Delhi. 

"If my team had not intervened, I would have been the next Anjali," she told NDTV, referring to the young woman who died on New Year's Day after being dragged 13 km by a car.

Swati Maliwal was allegedly harassed and dragged 15 metres near the AIIMS hospital in Delhi when she was out on the streets last night "for a reality check" on the safety of women in the capital.

The driver, 47-year-old Harish Chandra, has been arrested.

Ms Maliwal said she was out on an inspection on women's safety in Delhi and was at the bus stop near AIIMS when the car drove up.

It was around 3.11 am. Harish Chandra pulled up "extremely drunk" and pestered her to join him, she told NDTV. Her team was waiting at a distance.

Ms Maliwal said when she refused, the man "kept pestering her", then drove off "in anger", took a U-turn and returned after 10 minutes. When he tried to force her to join him in the car, she reached in through the window to catch him, but he allegedly rolled up the window, trapping her arm.

"He starts making lewd gestures. When I try and prevent him from running away, he just pulls up his window. My hand got stuck in the car and he pressed the accelerator at full speed and the car just went forward with me hanging there and being dragged along. It was really scary. If my team member had not intervened, I would have been the next Anjali," said Ms Maliwal.

Anjali Singh, 20, died in the early hours of the New Year January 1 after she was dragged for 13 km by drunk men in a car. They didn't stop even when they realized a woman was stuck under the wheels. Five men were arrested.

Ms Maliwal said her harasser "crossed all limits" and was like a predator waiting to act, despite traffic on the road.

"He was extremely, completely drunk. He was very, very ruthless. It was the most horrific ordeal. I am very shaken, but not scared. I began this experiment only to understand the truth behind tall claims of safety on the roads. If it happened to me, it will happen to any woman. Any Delhi girl will tell, it is a very common thing. If you get stuck on the roads beyond a particular hour..."

कल देर रात मैं दिल्ली में महिला सुरक्षा के हालात Inspect कर रही थी। एक गाड़ी वाले ने नशे की हालत में मुझसे छेड़छाड़ की और जब मैंने उसे पकड़ा तो गाड़ी के शीशे में मेरा हाथ बंद कर मुझे घसीटा। भगवान ने जान बचाई। यदि दिल्ली में महिला आयोग की अध्यक्ष सुरक्षित नहीं, तो हाल सोच लीजिए।

— Swati Maliwal (@SwatiJaiHind) January 19, 2023

Ms Maliwal, in a tweet earlier, said: "God saved life. If the chairperson of the woman's commission is not safe in Delhi, then imagine the situation."