Man arrested for molesting Manipur girls denied bail

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the bail application of a man arrested for allegedly beating and molesting two Manipuri girls and hurling racist abuses at them.
Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan declined bail to accused Prem Chand, saying the allegations against him are very serious in nature, so he cannot be granted any relief at this stage.
“The bail application of the accused is dismissed,” the judge said, adding that detail order will be made available later on. Besides Prem, the police had also arrested four others — Bhagwandas, Yogesh Prasad, Bharat and Manoj, who are presently in judicial custody till February 17.
The five accused had on February 4 refused to undergo TIP (test identification parade), saying the complainants will identify them as they are locals. The incident, which occurred at Kotla Mubarakpur area on January 25 evening, came to light following an uproar over the death of a student from Arunachal Pradesh, Nido Tania, who was allegedly assaulted by shopkeepers on January 29.
Facing criticism over “delay” in lodging of an FIR and alleged inaction, police initially arrested 32-year-old Prem from Kotla Mubarakpur here, seven days after the incident. Police have booked the five under IPC section 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (Punishment for assault or criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) read with 34 (common intention) and section 3 (11) of SC/ST Act. According to police, the two women were beaten up by a group of men who were in their late 20s. (PTI)