The woman officer was rescued from the mob by a group of policemen.
Highlights
- The woman officer was rescued from the mob by a group of policemen
- She has alleged that her subordinate's firearm was snatched in the chaos
- Saturday's clashes began with a disagreement over a parking spot
In new security footage of clashes at the Tis Hazari Court Complex on Saturday, a mob of lawyers is seen chasing a woman police officer who has alleged that she was assaulted during the violence.
The woman officer also alleges that a service firearm belonging to a subordinate was snatched in the chaos, and has been missing since. Police spokesperson Anil Mittal has said her statement will be added to a First Information Report being prepared in the incident.
This CCTV footage, along with an audio clip of two policemen discussing the episode, is part of the evidence being examined in a fact-finding inquiry ordered after hundreds of policemen held an unprecedented protest on Tuesday.
The footage begins by showing a number of lawyers crowding the lock-up, and a small group of police personnel hurrying towards them presumably to rescue the woman officer trapped in their midst. A few moments pass before she emerges, helped by a couple of plain-clothed policemen, while a few lawyers come after them.
That is when the footage ends.
Another significant incident seen in the footage is the explosion of a motorcycle set afire by the lawyers. Sources claim that the flames came very close to the lock-up on the premises, putting the lives of around 150 inmates in danger. Officers at the scene managed to extinguish the fire and take them to the relative safety of Tihar Jail.
NDTV has also accessed an audio clip of two policemen discussing the woman police officer's assault. "The pistol... has been snatched. I was beaten badly while trying to protect madam," one of them is heard telling the other, adding that he had suffered a broken shoulder, wrist and thumb, besides head injuries, in the violence.
Saturday's clashes began with a disagreement over a parking spot. Around 1:20 pm, a policeman confronted three lawyers who had allegedly parked a vehicle incorrectly. Around 30 policemen and lawyers were injured in the violence that followed.
NDTV has accessed security footage from various CCTVs that shows lawyers attacking policemen and trying to set fire to motorcycles. The policemen are seen trying to put out the fire with water.
Delhi Police has registered five cases based on complaints from lawyers but just one for all the 21 cops injured in the clashes.
A case was also registered in an incident on Monday at another court in Saket, where a lawyer was seen punching and slapping a policeman on a motorcycle. The case was filed only after hundreds of policemen protested a day later outside the police headquarters, demanding action and raging at their seniors for failing to protect them.