COMMENTRY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
ARCHIVES

Woman slaps ACP

It really was a slap in the face for Assistant Commissioner of Police B K Singh. Literally. And to cap it, the lady behind the blow, now identified as Kusum Sehgal, went on to smash the windshield of his official vehicle!

Okay, now that the dramatic intro is over, here is how it happened.

Singh, a Delhi vigilance cop, was on an official assignment -- in this case, he was waiting for a lady -- when two women accosted him, assessed his identity, and then calmly proceeded to slap him. That is his version.

What the lady in question -- of the two involved, only one did the slapping -- claims that Singh tried to pick her up, asked her to accompany him to a certain five-star hotel, whereupon she just had to let him know what she thought of the idea.

Which, being a lady of action, she did promptly.

Let us now hear, in first person, what Singh has to say.

"I have been receiving calls at office from a woman who identified herself as Vandana Bharadwaj. She said she wanted to meet me regarding some complaint and asked me to book a room in a five star hotel. When I refused, she said she wanted to meet me in my office after 7 pm. I again refused and asked her to meet me in a public place during day time."

"Friday, she called up at my house and asked me to wait outside 'Mringiani' showroom, in front of the Connaught Place police station at 5.30 pm. When I reached there, two women came up to me and asked whether I was waiting for Vandana. When I replied in the affirmative, one of the women asked me for the keys of my Gypsy. I refused. Suddenly, one of them held me by the collar and slapped me. She started shouting and also took a brick and smashed the windshield..."

So much for Singh. Now, on with the story.

The glass-breaking drama caught a beat constable's attention. He thought it necessary to escort both the parties to his station house officer. Both Sehgal and Singh told their respective stories to that gentleman and, on his request, gave in written complaints. But no first information report was filed.

Meanwhile, police sources say that Sehgal is not a novice when it comes to filing complaints against police officials -- she has two public interest litigations pending in the court against officers.

"However, this is the first time she has gone around slapping an IPS officer," they said.