A year after ‘assault’, woman says no FIR lodged

Noida: Even as Noida police have been claiming to work towards enhancing women’s safety, a woman complainant has alleged that no action has been taken on a complaint she filed over a year ago.

Sapna Shukla (32) was allegedly slapped repeatedly by a man — who identified himself as a sub-inspector posted at the Phase-3 police station — in Sector 73 last year. She has been running from pillar to post for justice since then.

Sapna, who was staying in Gadhi Chaukhandi, had gone to return a cloth item to a vendor on February 1, 2020 when the incident took place. “The vendor was adamant that I take another top. I insisted that I be given some bottomwear instead, which led to an argument. One man standing nearby too started arguing with me,” she said.

“When I objected, he started hurling abuses at me and repeatedly slapped me. He said he was a sub-inspector,” she further alleged.

Sapna alleged that the man, identified as Nitin Chaudhary, pushed her to the ground. “When a PCR van arrived, Nitin called up a police officer and identified himself as a staffer. The constables that came on the PCR did not help me and instead started chatting with him,” she said.

The woman alleged that Nitin and the cops put pressure on her to go to the police station at night. “I heard the police officers saying that there is no video, so I will not be able to do anything,” she said. Sapna alleged that despite giving a complaint to the local police, a non-cognisable report was lodged, but no FIR. “I approached the DCP (women’s safety) too, but no action has been taken so far,” she said.

A police officer from the Phase-3 police station said that there was no officer by the name of Nitin Chaudhary. DCP (women’s safety) Vrinda Shukla, meanwhile, said a preliminary inquiry found that there was “only an argument” and no assault and the woman was “habitual” in making complaints.