Swati Maliwal expressed her determination to uncover the undisclosed motives of the Delhi Police and the reasons behind the denial of her access to the survivor and her mother. The Chief of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Swati Maliwal, staged a protest at a hospital on Monday, protesting against her inability to meet a minor girl. This girl had allegedly been subjected to sexual assault by a senior government official, who also happened to be a friend of her father.
Addressing the media, Maliwal stated her intention to unravel the hidden intentions of the Delhi Police and questioned the impediments preventing her, as the DCW chief, from meeting the survivor and her mother. She remarked, “My presence in this protest is a result of my quest to unveil the concealed motives of the Delhi Police and understand why they are obstructing my access to meet the girl. Throughout the day, we have been striving to visit the hospital, yet we have been consistently discouraged from doing so. But why shouldn’t I visit? It is within my legal responsibilities. Why should meeting the girl be prohibited? It’s an appalling situation when the Delhi Commission for Women chief has to resort to sitting on the ground due to the reluctance of the police and the hospital to allow me to meet the survivor.”
#UPDATE | DCW chief Swati Maliwal sits on ‘dharna’ at the hospital in Delhi where the minor girl has been admitted.
“…I want to see what it is that the Delhi Police want to hide and the DCW chief is not being allowed to go in and meet the girl?…I warn the Delhi Police, they… pic.twitter.com/L8pnij6EeX
— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2023
The accused official is alleged to have sexually abused the girl from October 2020 to February 2021, subsequent to bringing her home after her father’s demise in 2020. The girl informed the police in her complaint that the accused’s wife had provided her with abortion pills to terminate her pregnancy. The matter came to light when a psychiatrist at a Delhi hospital, who had counseled the girl, reported the incident to the police this month.
The accused and his wife are currently in police custody, undergoing interrogation.
Maliwal further cautioned the Delhi Police, asserting, “Despite their actions, I am resolute in remaining here until I am granted access to meet the survivor and her mother. I intend to test the extent of the Delhi Police’s authority and how long they can sustain their refusal to allow me to meet them.”
In an earlier development on Monday, Maliwal issued an official notice to the Delhi government, highlighting the lack of arrest of the suspended official, who held the position of deputy director in the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department. The DCW subsequently issued an additional notice to the Delhi government, seeking information about the complaints against the accused official and the corresponding actions taken in response.
