Women panel chief deposes against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for 2017 comment on Bengaluru new year incident

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday deposed against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for his 2017 comment on the Bengaluru new year incident. 

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Wednesday deposed before a special magistrate court in Mumbai against Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Azmi for his 2017 comment on the Bengaluru new year incident.

In 2017, the DCW had taken objection to an interview given by the MLA and had filed a zero FIR in Delhi. The case was later transferred to the Colaba police station in Mumbai. The police station had filed a chargesheet against Azmi for uttering obscene words under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Abu Azmi filed a bail application in the case in 2021. The court released Azmi on a bail bond of Rs 15,000. On the same day, the 67th metropolitan magistrate's court at Mumbai’s Borivali had framed charges against Azmi. He had pleaded not guilty in the case.

ALSO READ | Kapil Sibal dumps Congress, files Rajya Sabha nomination with Samajwadi Party's backing

Abu Azmi had made a comment in 2017 after a mass molestation incident on new year’s eve in Bengaluru. Eyewitness accounts and cellphone videos of the incident showed a number of women molested and groped by men.

Azmi had said it was bound to happen as “Women call nudity fashion. They were wearing short dresses.” He added that, “As far as Bengaluru is concerned, women and their guardians must take precautions and remember that security starts at home. Our women must think about their own security themselves.”

Swati Maliwal is the first witness to be brought in the case after the hearing was postponed for several reasons, including the pandemic. She said that, “What Azmi had stated promoted a rapist mindset.”