New Delhi: A team of Delhi police has arrived at Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s residence seeking information regarding his remark about sexual assault victims during his pan-India foot march Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The team led by Sagar Preet Hooda, the special commissioner of police (law and order) is seeking details about Gandhi’s statement he gave in Srinagar that ‘I have heard that women are still being sexually assaulted’.
‘We've come here to talk to him. Rahul Gandhi gave a statement in Srinagar on January 30 that during Yatra he met several women and they told him that they had been raped...We're trying to get details from him so that justice can be given to victims,’ Hooda told reporters outside Gandhi's residence.
Gandhi shared an anecdote from his interaction with some women who confessed to being gangraped stating that women were still being assaulted in the country and that the media does not speak about it.
He added that he suggested the women to report the incident to the police which they didn’t, thinking they won’t get married.
After taking cognisance of social media posts he shared on his official account, the police had issued a notice to Gandhi on March 16 asking him the details of the women who had approached him regarding sexual harassment in order to take legal action.
Gandhi is yet to respond to it. Delhi Police sources say that if he fails to give details, another notice will be served upon him.
‘As it's a sensitive case involving the life and security of individuals, the team is working to collect relevant information to ensure evidence and witnesses aren't tampered with,’ the police said.
Congress sees this as another tool of harassment deployed by the Delhi police. "There can be a statement, but they can't compel him to reveal names of victims. The action is malicious and bogus," they said.