A 23-year-old woman, who was deployed as a marshall in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus at Subhash Place Bus Depot, has alleged extreme mental torture by her colleagues after she turned down a bus conductor's sexual advances.
Taking note of the incident, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday also issued notices to the city police and the Delhi Transport Corporation, claiming that a woman bus marshal allegedly attempted suicide after facing sexual harassment at work.
The police, however, said the woman had earlier informed them that she did not want legal action against the accused since he had apologised.
According to Usha Rangnani, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Northwest district, police received a police control room (PCR) call at Keshavpuram police station on July 15 in which a woman caller mentioned about abuse and physical assault by her colleague at Subhash Place Bus Depot.
“Acting on the call, police immediately reached the spot and found the complainant woman who alleged that her colleague, identified as Sachin Kaushik, a Home Guard, abused and physically assaulted her,” said the DCP.
“Kaushik was brought to the police station for interrogation. The woman also told the police that she had an argument with Kaushik over placement of their duties and in this heated argument Kaushik abused her and pushed her away,” said the DCP.
“The complainant, however, compromised the matter with the alleged on her own and gave her handwritten statement to the Investigation Officer that she does not want any legal action against the alleged on her PCR call as the alleged has apologised and that she has suffered no injuries,” said the DCP.
The DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal said that the Commission has received a complaint from the said woman in which she stated that she was deployed as a bus Marshall in DTC bus service on May 20.
She has alleged that after a few days, the bus conductor started forcing her for sexual favours and also took Rs. 25,000 for her transfer from the depot. She stated that she complained against him to higher officials of the depot, but no action was taken," the DCW chairperson said in a notice to the Delhi Police and DTC.
The woman, in her complaint to the DCW, stated that she also approached the Keshavpuram police station but no FIR was registered. "At last she tried to attempt suicide and is currently admitted at hospital," Maliwal informed.