Midnight raid: police fail to file report, seeks more time

Investigators today failed to file the status report before a court here in a case lodged by them against unnamed persons for allegedly molesting an African woman during a midnight raid by a group purportedly led by Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti.
Delhi Police, investigating the case, filed the list of witnesses before Metropolitan Magistrate Chetna Singh in a closed envelop and has sought time to submit full report within a month.
Court sources said the investigators have listed 40 prosecution witnesses, out of which 12 are African women whose statements have also been recorded before the magistrate.
It further said the police sought time saying the probe is at an initial stage and they need more time to file the report.

"March 26 is fixed for filing of report," the court said.
On January 19, police had lodged an FIR against unnamed persons under various sections of the IPC, including 153-A (promoting enmity between classes), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 354 (outraging women's modesty), 509 (uttering any word or making any gesture intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 147 (rioting) at the Malviya Nagar police station.

The FIR was lodged on the court's direction after an Ugandan woman had approached it on January 18 seeking to file a criminal case against unnamed persons.
Later, a second African woman had moved the court seeking registration of a separate FIR alleging she was also molested by the group.

The second woman had claimed the group had forcibly held her hands and took her out of the house along with her sisters who reside with her.