Man Paraded Naked By Delhi Police After He Allegedly Tried To Flee In Towel "Resisting" Arrest

On Thursday, May 17, an alleged proclaimed offender, who has 31 robbery and bootlegging cases against him, was paraded naked in southwest Delhi’s Inderpuri locality by the police officials. The entire incident was captured in a CCTV camera installed in the area.

The incident

The police had a warrant against the man, identified as Virendra who is a resident of Inderpuri’s JJ colony. He was at home, taking a shower when around ten police officials barged in and dragged him out. According to his family, Virendra wasn’t given a chance to dress and was forcefully dragged outside his house, naked, as reported by NDTV

The CCTV footage shows Virendra surrounded by a group of policemen, being taken through a crowded market without any clothes. Meanwhile, another policeman on a motorcycle, without a helmet, trails them. His wife and sister can be seen running behind them, with Virendra’s clothes.

Wife of accused said that she pleaded with the police to let Virendra cover himself, but they ignored her request. In the footage, an officer saw clasping the towel, but Virendra wasn’t allowed to cover up.

Two months ago, the Patiala House court had issued a bailable warrant against Virendra. He had been accused in a trespassing case dating back to 2008.

“He was supposed to appear in court today; however, the police arrested him on May 17. He was forced to walk naked, and there were thousands of onlookers in the area. The police officers kept saying, ‘he will walk naked till the police station’,” Mir Akhtar Hussain, Virendra’s lawyer, told NDTV.

Mr Husain showed the CCTV footage and narrated the entire incident to the judge following which the judge asked him to file a complaint. “We plan to approach the Home Minister, Lieutenant Governor and top police officers to demand action against the erring cops,” the lawyer said.

Police says

Meanwhile, denying all the allegations, the Delhi Police said that the accused who was merely in a towel was trying to resist arrest and then his towel slipped off.

However, According to The Times of India, there is another mobile clipping which hows Virendra, trying to flee from his two-storey house in a towel as the police came to arrest him. In this clip, Virendra can be seen hanging by the railings on the terrace of his house.

While a policeman was attempting to pull him back to safety, Virendra was trying to come down with the support of a window AC beneath him.

“A non-bailable warrant had been issued against him, we had been searching for him, but we couldn’t find him. When he saw us, he tried to escape, and while escaping, his towel fell,” Delhi Police’s Public Relations Officer, Deependra Pathak told NDTV.

“To get himself out of that situation, he challenged the Police, who had him surrounded. As a last resort, he said he would strip down, and he did, wrapping just a towel around himself,” Mr Pathak said, adding, “Despite all these antics, the Police proceeded towards doing the right thing, which was making the arrest, following which, his towel fell,” he said.

DCP (west) Vijay Kumar said that the accused was offered clothes, but he refused to take them. He was taken to the police van immediately as they feared that the family members might cause disruption.

The Logical Indian Take

If the cops are found to be guilty, a strict action must be taken against them. The cops have violated the dignity of a person and it is not at all acceptable that those who are required to uphold law to publicly shame a person.