DCW chief molestation case: Delhi BJP calls it 'drama'; demands Maliwal’s removal

The Delhi BJP on Saturday (January 21) demanded Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal’s suspension by the Lieutenant Governor for a fair police probe of her alleged molestation charges.

In a letter to Lt Governor VK Saxena, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor requested him to suspend Maliwal till the completion of the police inquiry into the incident of alleged molestation with her on January 19.

Kapoor said reports indicate the man accused of molesting the DCW chief was an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) worker.

Also read: Delhi women’s panel chief dragged by car for 10-15 metres, accused arrested

The alleged incident occurred near AIIMS in the early hours of January 19 when Maliwal on a spot check of women’s safety measures in the city was approached by a car driver allegedly in an inebriated condition.

Everyone condemned the incident and it was satisfying to note that Delhi Police acted swiftly after the incident was reported and arrested the accused within an hour, Kapoor said.

“…But social media reports on this, as well as media reports, indicate that the eve teaser involved Harish Chandra Suryavanshi is an active worker of Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party from Sangam Vihar,” the BJP spokesperson said.

Also read: DCW chief asks police to file FIR in connection with lewd comments against daughters of Dhoni, Kohli

There are photographs of Harish Chandra Suryavanshi campaigning with an AAP MLA, he added.

BJP says Maliwal ‘exposed’

“This development revealing eve teaser’s connection with Aam Aadmi Party has exposed Swati Maliwal and she will try her best to influence the police inquiry in the matter by using her constitutional office,” Kapoor alleged.

In the letter, he urged the LG to suspend Maliwal from the post of DCW chairperson till the inquiry of the alleged molestation incident is completed so that she cannot “misuse her position” to “influence” it.

The BJP had on Friday also raised questions over Maliwal’s molestation claims, alleging that the person she accused is an AAP member and her “drama” was part of a conspiracy that was “exposed”.

Maliwal had alleged that she was molested by a drunk man while on an inspection at night and dragged for 10-15 metres by his car outside AIIMS with her hand stuck in the vehicle’s window.

Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva had said Suryavanshi, accused of harassing Maliwal, is actually a prominent activist of the AAP in Sangam Vihar.

Sachdeva had shared a photo in which the accused was seen campaigning with AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal.

Reacting to BJP’s allegations, Maliwal tweeted in Hindi, “Let me tell those who think that they will scare me by telling dirty lies about me. I have done many big things in this short life by tying a shroud on my head. I had many attacks but I did not stop. With every atrocity the fire inside me grew stronger. No one can suppress my voice. I will keep fighting as long as I am alive!”

(With agency inputs)