The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) demand for the suspension of some “erring” police officers pending a judicial probe boomeranged on it on Wednesday, with women groups demanding similar action against Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti.
The Delhi Commission for Women, too, issued summons to Bharti over his alleged harassment of Ugandan nationals, who have recorded statements pointing fingers at him.
Bharti has been criticised for leading some local people and media teams at midnight to a south Delhi area and getting into a fracas with the Delhi Police for defying his orders to raid an alleged sex and drug racket run by some African nationals.
The incident led to alleged assault of some African women who were forced to undergo medical tests. He is also facing flak for using foul language against senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and senior advocate Harish Salve.
Human rights violation In a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, six national women’s organisations said they were dismayed by the “horrific act of harassment and racial profiling of Ugandan and Nigerian women by a group led by the Delhi Law Minister” and demanded appropriate action against him.
Citing television footage of the incident, including Bharti’s own statements, CCTV footage from AIIMS and complaints by the women themselves, the letter said it was “clear that Bharti endangered the women and instigated the crowd to violate their human rights, by branding them as prostitutes and asking the crowd to catch them”.
While senior AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan disapproved of Bharti’s language, the AAP stood firm by its law minister on the midnight raid issue.
An AAP volunteer said it was only after local residents’ complaints were not heeded by the police for two months that Bharti, as the local MLA, stepped in. She said not all Africans living in the area were involved in the racket and blamed the media for giving it a racial colour.
“Please speak to the locals who are facing the menace of drugs and flesh trade. The police are aware of it, but have been looking the other way,” she added.