Delhi police set a new standard of callousness and insensitivity last week when two police officers – one in a police control van and other on a police control motorbike ignored an ongoing incident of assault and refused to offer aid to the victims, one of whom was Dr V Mohini Giri, the 76-year-old former Chairperson of National Commission for Women. Dr Giri recounts her harrowing experience
By Mohini Giri
After a very tiring day on 23rd August 2014, Saturday, I decided to get out for some fresh air outside my office premises, SHUBHAM, at Qutub Institutional Area. I opted to take a route on the pathway of Sanjay Van in my car which was driven by my driver.
I had reached just the corner of the office building; I saw a sight that was just beyond the moral and humanist value of an individual. What I saw was a shameful assault of a girl by a gang of young boys. As I went closer to really understand the situation what I witnessed just shook me to the ground.
The young boys were trying to molest her by tearing off her clothes and they were also beating her. I immediately tried to shield her with my own body. The next minute, I saw a PCR van just pass by and I tried to stop the van. The driver came got out and saw the whole situation. To my surprise, he went back to report to a higher official sitting in the van. I was told by the driver then, that “Sahib ko kahin jaldi jana hai abhi main aapki koi madad nai kar sakta.”
Suddenly I saw a woman in her mid 30’s coming towards me. She came closer to me and started punching me hard from left, right and centre. Being a 76-year-old woman and being on the medical support, I was hurt very badly with the internal as well as external injuries. There were about 50 onlookers. None of them including my driver could come to my rescue. Rather, they were mere spectators and cheerful audiences witnessing this irony of an old woman. The trouble of the girl was now the trauma of an old woman. Again I saw a PCR motorbike coming. I tried stopping it. When they stopped, I told the police officials to stop this fight and take the boys and everyone along. The policeman started yelling; addressing me as ‘Budiya’ (old woman) he told me that if I have any serious grievances I must report it by filing an FIR at the police station. This raises one question in my mind, who will rescue anyone in this country if we have to face such harassment?
I went straight to my son’s place. He provided me the first aid and some medicine for my heart. I am still suffering from the trauma of the hard punches and the attempt to tear off my clothes. What country do we live in? Where is the law and order? How and when will the police reforms happen? How can person who attempts a rescue be safe guarded in the biggest polity of India? How will the crimes ever stop? These are my questions to you!!
In my medical checkup the ECG was abnormal and now I am proceeding to my cardiologist.
This is an unfortunate and shocking incident to have to go through at any age, and even more so when one is aged.
This is the ground reality. I too have faced total public apathy in my attempts to intervene in such public spats. I think we as a nation, as a society, as a people have become too selfish and indifferent to the troubles of others. There is little accountability at any level, and even our alleged culture of respect for women and the aged are nothing but a memory, if ever it was true. I notice that no one has even commented on this post before me. Are feminists too becoming insensitive and ‘too busy’ to handle such issues? Safety for women in public spaces is a huge issue all over India and we really need to take back these spaces.
We seem to sink lower day by day. Mohiniji what an awful incident. Please take care
Its shame on the part of the police in not interfering,it is also shame on the perpetrators of the alleged crime.shame shame on the police for not changing their attitude and patriarchy mind sent.
Only Kejriwal as CM can take on the b@#€&%* that have infilterated in the police force