Army officer attacked for objecting to public drinking

An Army officer and his son were reportedly assaulted, and his wife threatened, after he objected to two men consuming alcohol inside a parked car near their home in southwest Delhi, police said Monday. The incident occurred on Saturday night in Vasant Enclave when two men were drinking in a luxury vehicle outside an Army Brigadier’s residence. Following the officer’s objection, several men arrived, assaulting him and his son and threatening his wife.

According to DCP South West, Amit Goel, cognisance has been taken in the matter, and an FIR has been registered. A case vide FIR No. 50/26 under Sections 115(2), 126(2), 351(2), 79, 191(2), and 190 of BNS has been registered on the complaint of the officer’s wife, and the investigation has been taken up. The DCP added that during preliminary inquiry, a lapse was found on the part of the inspector handling the investigation, and he has been sent to District Lines. A senior police official said that all accused persons have been arrested and the inspector handling the investigation has been suspended.

The Indian Army has also noted the incident. A Military Police team is assisting the officer. Authorities have asked Delhi Police to investigate promptly. Several videos of the incident, recorded by family members, have surfaced on social media, showing two men inside a car holding a liquor bottle.

Speaking to media persons, the brigadier’s son, Tejas Singh Arora, said, “On Saturday night, after dinner, my father, Brigadier PS Arora, and I were out for a walk. We saw two men inside a luxury car openly drinking and smoking.”

He said that they politely asked the men to move elsewhere, as it was a residential area and public drinking was inappropriate. “The moment we requested them to leave, they became hostile and dared us to call anyone. My father then asked me to call the police control room,” he said.

Arora alleged that when police personnel arrived, they refused to record their complaint. Instead, one of the men spoke to the officer over the phone, after which the officer told them he would deal with the matter later.

“Soon after, seven to eight men arrived in two vehicles and started thrashing us and abusing my mother. They were associates of the accused,” he claimed.

He told the reporters that he was repeatedly assaulted for around 15 minutes in the presence of police personnel.“Five to six men kept beating me continuously, while my father was also surrounded. We had called the police, but they did not intervene,” he alleged.Tejas sustained injuries to his face, neck, and palm. He alleged that the responding officer remained inside his vehicle and did not offer any assistance.The brigadier’s wife also alleged that the officer present at the spot refused to intervene despite her requests.“The officer did not step in as the men continued assaulting my son. When I pleaded for help, he said he could act only after his team arrived,” she claimed.

She said that after the attackers left, the officer refused to take them to the police station and instead opened the boot of the vehicle. “You are not the kind of people who deserve to sit on the seats,” she quoted the officer as saying.

At the police station, the family claimed they faced further harassment. “They kept us waiting for about half an hour. A woman officer told us they did not have ‘free time’ as we had called the PCR multiple times. When my husband said we were both in uniform and deserved basic respect, she became aggressive,” the brigadier’s wife told the reporters.

She also claimed that despite her son bleeding, the police insisted on an MLC report before registering the complaint and did not provide a vehicle to take them to the hospital.

“Eventually, my husband took our son to the Army Hospital himself for treatment and X-rays,” she alleged.