Court grants bail to man accused of molesting DCW chief Swati Maliwal
New Delhi, Jan 21: A court here on Saturday granted bail to a man accused of molesting and dragging DCW chief Swati Maliwal, saying it will be unfair to subject the accused to a premature trial at the present stage.
Maliwal had on Thursday alleged that she was molested by a drunk man while she was on an inspection at night, and dragged by his car for 10-15 metres outside the AIIMS here with her hand stuck in the vehicle's window.
The Kotla Mubarakpur police station registered an FIR and arrested the accused Harish Chander (47), who was subsequently remanded in judicial custody.
"...I am of the view that no useful purpose will be served by keeping the accused behind the bars. Accordingly, accused Harish Chander is admitted to bail subject to furnishing bail bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount ," Metropolitan Magistrate Sanghmitra said.
Other conditions of the bail include Chander not committing a similar offence, not tampering with evidence, joining investigation as and when required, providing his address and phone number, and not contacting, meeting or threatening the complainant, her family members and other witnesses, directly or indirectly, the court said.
"No doubt that the nature of accusations is serious and is a relevant consideration at this stage of deciding the application of bail, however, it is not the only test or factor to be considered. It is the basic principal of criminal law that the accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty and it would be impermissible for the court, at this stage, while deciding the bail application, to subject the accused to a pre mature trial," the court said.
Police said an FIR was registered against Chander under IPC sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The court said all offences attracted imprisonment of less than seven years and that except section 354 of IPC, all offences are bailable in nature.
"During arguments, this court has specifically asked the investigating officer regarding the need of any custodial interrogation of the accused for the purpose of investigation to which she has replied in the negative and the accused has no previous involvement in any other offence," the court said.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
