New Delhi (PTI): Three persons, including a juvenile, were apprehended after a video surfaced on social media showing a group of men allegedly harassing and groping a Japanese woman on Holi, police said on Saturday.
The video showed a group of men smearing colour on a foreigner, who seemed uncomfortable. It also showed one of the men smashing an egg on her head. She can be heard saying "bye bye" in the video.
According to the police, the video is of Holi (celebrated on March 8) and was shot in an area of Paharganj here.
The girl in the video is a Japanese tourist who was staying at Paharganj and departed to Bangladesh on Friday, they added.
The girl has not made any complaint, neither called Delhi Police nor her country's embassy as confirmed by the embassy official in response to an e-mail, a senior police officer said.
Police on Friday had said they have taken the notice of the video and were verifying whether it is of a recent incident or an old one.
People seen in the video have been identified. Three persons, including one juvenile, have been apprehended and questioned. They have confessed their involvement in the incident as seen in the video. They all are residents of a nearby area of Paharganj, Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Sanjay Kumar Sain said.
The girl tweeted from her Twitter handle that she has reached Bangladesh and was fit mentally and physically.
Police said action has been initiated against the accused under the Delhi Police Act. However, further legal action will be decided on merits and in accordance with the complaint by the girl, if any, they added.
Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Chairperson Swati Maliwal had said she was issuing a notice to Delhi Police to examine the video and arrest the perpetrators.
"Very disturbing videos getting viral on social media showing sexual harassment with foreign nationals on Holi! I am issuing notice to Delhi Police to examine these videos and arrest the perpetrators! Completely shameful behaviour!" Maliwal tweeted on Friday.
The National Commission for Women too took the notice of the video and asked Delhi Police to register an FIR in the matter.
"@NCWIndia has taken cognizance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @CPDelhi to immediately file FIR in the matter. NCW has also sought a fair and time-bound investigation in the matter. A detailed report must be apprised to the commission," the NCW tweeted.
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Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
