Tis Hazari court clashes: NCW takes suo motu cognisance of alleged attack on DCP Monika Bhardwaj during protests

New Delhi: The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday sought an immediate probe into the alleged attack on Deputy Commissioner Monika Bhardwaj during the Tis Hazari Court complex clashes last week. In the violence on Saturday, at least 20 Delhi Police personnel and several lawyers were injured. [caption id=“attachment_7604591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Police gather outside the police headquarters to protest the assault on policemen following clashes with lawyers at Tis Hazari court, in New Delhi.[/caption] Taking cognisance of media reports on the alleged attack on the officer, the NCW, in a letter to Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, said audio of the woman’s personal security officer (PSO) and a 1.40-minute long video corroborates the case. The panel in another letter to the Bar Council of India (BCI) said action should be taken against the lawyers involved in the incident. “The video shows that the woman officer was faced with a tough situation when a group of lawyers tried to grab her collar and charge at her,” NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said in the letter. The officer had to be “escorted” out of the spot with difficulty, she said. The commission strongly condemns such an incident and urges that the matter be thoroughly investigated, Sharma said. “I, therefore, request you to take immediate steps to inquire into the matter for appropriate action at the earliest,” she said. Sharma sought an action-taken report from the police in the matter within seven days. The commission recommended that the matter be taken up for investigation “independently”. In the letter to BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, the NCW said strong action should be taken against lawyers involved in manhandling and assaulting the woman police officer. “The commission recommends that such actions should be treated as gross misconduct and licence issued by the bar council to such advocates should be cancelled, if proved guilty,” Sharma said.