New Delhi, A woman selling flowers was assaulted with sticks and iron rods by a group of men in south Delhi’s Hauz Khas after she allegedly refused to sell marijuana, with her family claiming that they had been repeatedly threatened and attacked by members of a drug mafia, police said on Thursday.
After a brief exchange, one of them allegedly begins beating her with a stick. When bystanders intervene to help, another man joins in to attack them as well. He further alleged that the attackers threatened to kill them if they refused to sell marijuana. The family’s lawyer claimed that they contacted the police four to five times, and medical examinations of Radha and her son were conducted. However, no action was taken despite a complaint being lodged.
A purported video of the incident, which reportedly occurred on October 8, has surfaced on social media, showing the woman sitting by the roadside when two men approach her. Aman, a family member, told PTI that the incident took place around 3 am while his sister-in-law Radha was making garlands alone, as he was asleep.
The family approached the police several times after the incident but received no assistance initially, according to him. In a statement, Deputy Commissioner of Police Anant Mittal had earlier said that Hauz Khas police station had not received any PCR call or written complaint regarding the incident. “Nevertheless, based on social media inputs, the matter has been taken cognisance of, and a police team has been deployed to identify and trace the persons involved in the incident,” the police said.
He alleged that even five days after the incident, the police had not conducted a proper investigation and that the woman had been assaulted previously on two occasions for refusing to sell drugs.
