Delhi Commission for Women Chairperson Swati Maliwal was detained while she was on her way to the Prime Minister’s Office on Wednesday. Maliwal was heading to the Parliament to submit letters from people across the country “demanding strong punishment against rapists of children within six months”.
Maliwal purportedly sustained injuries when police officials detained her, unidentified officials from her office said. “Maliwal has been gravely injured and she is not in a condition to move her arms,” The Hindu quoted an unidentified Delhi Commission for Women official as saying. The official also said that police detained Maliwal and several others after stopping the delegation at Vijay Chowk.
“Due to the Parliament session, Section 144 has been imposed in New Delhi district,” Delhi Police spokesperson Madhur Verma told The Indian Express. “Therefore, the protest was not allowed and they were detained.”
The police took Maliwal to the Mandir Marg Police Station, and some of her supporters to the Parliament Street Police Station. However, she was then escorted to the Prime Minister’s Office to submit the letters.
Earlier on Wednesday, Maliwal met Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shatrughan Sinha, who lent his support to the #RapeRoko movement, an initiative the commission chief started after an eight-month old baby was raped in the national Capital in January.
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