Woman manhandled by cops at Lalbaug Cha Raja pandal, inquiry ordered after video goes viral

A video, captured by a bystander, that shows a young woman being slapped repeatedly by women police officials outside the Lalbaug Cha Raja pandal in Central Mumbai on the occasion of Ganpati visarjan, is going viral on social media, raising questions about police brutality. According to a report in Mid-Day, the victim, Nandini Deepak Goswami, a resident of Mira Road, was trying to get in through the VIP entry to the Lalbaug Cha Raja pandal for darshan when she was caught by the police officials and assaulted after a heated argument. She was then taken to Kalachowkie police station and fined Rs 1,200 for misconduct. [caption id=“attachment_2447934” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Screengrab from video. Image courtesy: Twitter/ @tonyaranha[/caption] The video, uploaded on Twitter, shows Goswami arguing with police officials near the barricading out side the pandal. Three women police officials are then seen slapping her in the video as a friend tries to shield her from the police.  

This is Lalbaug where a girl is being hammered by cops! No media picked this up! pic.twitter.com/2EccwX3cWi

— Tony Aranha (@tonyaranha) September 28, 2015

  “The footages which have gone viral show only one side of the story – what happened inside the gate. But, in her attempt to get inside, Goswami misbehaved with those cops. She had been threatening them that she is a black belt in karate and had been abusing the three women constables constantly. So, the three women cops got angry and took her to the police station,” the report quoted an unnamed police official from Kalachowkie station as saying. The Mumbai Police on Monday ordered an inquiry into the 25 September incident, an Indian Express report says. “Deputy Commissioner of Police Ashok Dhude has been asked to inquire into the matter and a report is soon expected,”  the report quoted Mumbai Police PRO Mohan Dahikar as saying. The Lalbaug Cha Raja pandal, a prime spot for darshan during Ganeshotsav that attracts large crowds of common-folk as well as VIPs, has its share of notoriety. Recently, Poonam Apraj, a 29-year-old journalist with a Marathi newspaper, too had an unpleasant experience outside Lalbaug Cha raja pandal    when the police allegedly did not allow her to use the road leading to the gate of the pandal even though she had valid resident’s pass. According to a Mid-Day report, the journalist had tried to shoot the entire incident on her mobile phone, when the police confiscated her phone and took her to the police station.