Delhi police said Sunday that the people involved in the assault of the woman, seen being pushed into a cab in a viral video, were her friends and the incident happened following an altercation between them. The police were able to trace the persons in the viral video on the basis of the digital payment made to the taxi and the number used to book the car, Harendra K. Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) said.
“Yesterday at 10pm, Mangolpuri police station (outer district) received information of three men beating a woman. Under the Indian Penal Code 365, a case was registered and an investigation was launched. As the taxi’s number flashed on call, alert for a search operation in Delhi and neighbouring areas was made and it was found registered under the name Shailender,” Singh said to news agency ANI.
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The people involved in the incident had booked the cab from Delhi’s Rohini to Vikaspuri. “The woman and her two friends had an argument on personal issues which took the form of physical assault,” Singh further said, adding that she got out of the taxi but was forced to sit back in again by her friends.
On the driver’s role in the incident, Singh said, “Since the matter got heated, the driver asked them to get out of the taxi.” After tracing the group, the police recorded their statements. “ The woman’s statement was recorded with a counsellor and medical assistance is being provided,” Singh added.
The DCP said further course of action in the incident will be taken upon the woman’s statement.
The video of the incident, which followed on a busy road in the national capital, was widely circulated on social media, evoking fears about the safety of women, as netizens fumed over public inaction in the matter. As viral as the video went, the Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal also took cognisance and issued notice to the police for immediate action.
