Man held for molesting Manipuri woman sent to custody

A man arrested for allegedly beating and molesting two Manipuri women while hurling racist abuses at them was on Monday sent to one-day police custody by a Delhi court.

Accused Prem Chand   was arrested yesterday and was produced before Metropolitan Magistrate Dheeraj Mor who handed him over to Delhi police for custodial interrogation till Tuesday.

The incident, which occurred in Kotla Mubarakpur area on January 25 evening, came to light following an uproar over the death of a student from Arunachal Pradesh Nido Tania who was assaulted by shopkeepers on January 29.

While seeking three days remand of Chand, the police told the court that the women in their complaint had informed them that the accused have snatched their mobile phone while assaulting them.

The agency said Chand's custody was necessary to recover the stolen property and they also need to arrest the other persons involved in the crime. Advocate Vinod Gupta, representing the accused, however, opposed the police's plea saying the complainants have never spoken to the police about the stolen mobile.

"It's an after-thought story just to implicate Chand," the counsel said, adding the alleged victims disclosed this fact later in another supplementary complaint. Facing criticism over "delay" in lodging a first information report and alleged inaction, the police arrested 32-year-old Chand from Kotla Mubarakpur area, seven days after the incident.

The police have booked Chand under sections of the Indian Penal Code dealing with section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) read with 34 (common intention) and section 3 (11) of SC/ST Act.