Delhi Commission For Women chief Swati Maliwal on Thursday met wrestlers protesting at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, hours after a scuffle broke out at the spot between the grapplers and police, leading to a couple of protesters getting injured.
Before the meeting, Maliwal had alleged that she was not being allowed to meet the wrestlers.
In a video shared by her on Twitter, she could be seen telling policemen that she holds a constitutional post and wanted to meet the protesters.
In response to her tweet, DCP, New Delhi, tweeted, "Hon'ble Chairperson DCW was stopped at the barricade by an officer and let go immediately. She is presently inside at the protest site. There is no restriction on individual entry to Jantar Mantar."
Maliwal later tweeted in Hindi: "I am sitting with wrestlers who are protesting at Jantar Mantar. They are telling me that last night some police personnel, who were inebriated, misbehaved with them and attacked them. After writing down the complaints, Delhi Commission For Women will act on them."
She told PTI that she had spoken to the women protesters and recorded their statements in detail.
"According to them, some of the officers of Delhi Police were drunk on Wednesday night. They dragged some of these women and beat them. They abused them and even pulled their hair," she said.
According to their allegations, there were only male officers at the spot then, she said.
Maliwal said the DCW will be issuing a notice to police over the incident and will ensure that action is taken against the guilty.
Maliwal said 40 FIRs have already been registered against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh -- a sexual harassment accused against whom the wrestlers are on protest.
"Now an FIR under POCSO Act has also been registered against him, yet he is not arrested," she said.
Delhi Police is yet to record statements of the victims under section 164 CrPC and while Brij Bhushan sits inside an AC room, the women here are out on street protesting and crying for justice, she said.
"The authorities are trying to protect Singh. Otherwise, in any case of sexual harassment, police immediately records victims statements under section 164 CrPC," she said.
Referring to the two FIRS registered against Singh, she said these FIRs were also registered after a gap of six days and only when the Supreme Court directed the Delhi Police to do so.
"FIRs should be registered against DCP New Delhi and Parliament Street SHO for not registering FIRs immediately after the complaints were received. Only if senior officers are suspended, they will know that their moral responsibility is to stand with the victims," she said.
Maliwal said even she was dragged and pulled inside a police van when she visited Jantar Mantar on Wednesday night.
The wrestlers have levelled allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is also a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Uttar Pradesh.
The wrestlers have alleged that they were beaten up by some policemen Wednesday night.
According to them, two wrestlers, Rahul Yadav and Dushyant Phogat, were injured in the fight. Vinesh Phogat, an award winning wrestler, too received head injuries.
On Wednesday night, police had detained Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Singh Hooda and Swati Maliwal when they had gone to the spot to support the wrestlers.
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