New Delhi, April 13 (IANS) The family of a senior army officer who was allegedly assaulted along with his son in south Delhi’s Vasant Enclave has claimed that they received no immediate assistance from the police and that action in the case began only after the matter was taken up through defence channels.
According to officials, the Brigadier and his son were attacked by a group of men after they objected to two individuals consuming alcohol inside a parked car in their residential area. The incident is reported to have occurred on April 11 at around 10 p.m.
The Brigadier, currently posted in Gujarat and residing in Delhi with his family, said the incident unfolded when he stepped out for a walk with his son after dinner. Just outside their residence, they noticed two men sitting inside a white Mercedes car and drinking alcohol. When the officer objected to the activity, an argument ensued between the two sides.
Talking to IANS, the officer’s wife recounted the sequence of events, saying: “The whole incident was that two individuals were sitting in a white Mercedes car and drinking alcohol. After dinner, when my husband and son went out for a walk, they objected, saying that drinking in a residential colony is not allowed, after which the individuals spoke to them inappropriately. We did not retaliate and called the PCR. PCR took time, and after a while, they arrived and talked to the men in the Mercedes. Till the time the official started taking our statements, goons arrived in two cars and started assaulting my son and husband.”
She further alleged a lack of police intervention during the assault.
“Instead of helping us, the police personnel went back to their van. My husband tried to save my son from the goons, but they were also hitting him. When I approached the police personnel again, he denied the help, stating that he alone could not do anything in front of so many goons. He said that he will wait for his team. His team never arrived. The goons kept hitting my husband and child for 20 minutes. I was trying to save them, and even then, the goons passed comments on me,” she said.
Describing her interaction with the police, she added: “When I asked the police personnel to take me to the police station, he opened the van’s trunk for me and told me to lie there, and he would take me to the station. I said I would not sit in the trunk. I want to sit on the seat, to which the personnel said, ‘This is not your place’. So with our own car, we went to the police station, where we did not get any assistance and questioned why we were calling the PCR again and again and frustrating them.”
The family said a complaint was filed in the early hours of April 12. “We had filed a complaint on April 12 at around 2 a.m. However, no action was taken till we sought help through the defence channel. He (the Brigadier) was taken to the hospital by the police. We ourselves took him to our Army hospital, R&R, as the police said they did not have the ambulance to take him to Safdarjung Hospital. No police officer went with us; they ignored everything, eating parathas and everything. They ignored our agony,” she added.
Despite the assault, the officer and his son reportedly did not suffer any severe injuries.
The Brigadier’s son also described the incident, stating, “My father had politely asked them not to drink near the society as it’s a residential area, but they rejected the request and told us not to ‘instruct them’. We then called the PCR. By that time, the men called their goons, and after that, they started assaulting us. No one helped us.”
He stated that police asked for an MLC (Medico Legal Certificate), but no one from the police accompanied him to the hospital. Later, he went to RR hospital on his own for MLC. The Brigadier said that even after MLC, the police didn’t file an FIR and only made a General Diary entry.
He further alleged that despite providing evidence, there was little progress in the case initially. “Even after all the details and proof were provided, no major action was taken. So, the Corps of Military Police (CMP) has likely taken the matter into their own hands, and I am sure they will handle it more effectively,” he said.
The Indian Army has taken serious cognisance of the matter and initiated steps to support the officer. A CMP team has been directed to assist him, and the Delhi Police has been approached to conduct an investigation and take action.
The matter is now under investigation, and further details are awaited.
–IANS
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