New Delhi, January 2
The Delhi police has arrested five persons, including a staffer in the Defence Ministry and a constable in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), for allegedly molesting a woman and trying to abduct her in their car, said a senior police officer today, adding that the accused have been sent to 14-day judicial custody.

The accused, identified as Mahender (26), Sunil Dahiya (25), Rajneesh (28), Gopal (28) and Vasant (31) were arrested on Sunday from the Bawana area of northwest Delhi.

The accused came in an Alto car and molested the woman in front of her house in Bawana even as her mother-in-law, Roshani Devi, was nearby on Sunday around 9.45 pm.

The male family members were not at home at that time.

However, the culprits were overpowered by the neighbours as Roshani raised the alarm.

The complainant, Roshani, a resident of Kakroi village in Sonipat, Haryana, is working temporarily at a farm in Bawana village.

Roshani reported to the police that the accused, all residents of Sonipat, entered their house while she along with her daughter-in-law, was busy in cooking.

A case regarding the incident was registered and the accused were sent to 14-day judicial custody on Monday, said police officials.

New Delhi, January 2
In view of the brutal gangrape of a 23-year-old paramedical student that sparked a national outrage, the Delhi police is being imparted training in gender sensitization and investigation in rape cases.

An initiative of the Delhi police, the course was today launched at the Specialised Training Centre in Rajendra Nagar here by Justice Geeta Mittal of the Delhi High Court and Ranjana Kumari, Director, Centre for Social Research.

During the eight-day training, the personnel would be trained on how to deal with a victim when she comes to them to report a case of sexual assault or other such issues.

"Woman in our society has no choice of her own as everything is dictated by her father, husband and then her son," said Justice Mittal.

Referring to the societal divide, Kumari said women are always treated as 'second-grade citizens' even at home while boys have ample freedom which later makes them arrogant.

Rape and other sexual offences need special attention of the police as a woman would come to them only as a last resort, Kumari told the personnel. "A woman comes to you as the last resort, when all her other options are exhausted. In that case, you need to be empathetic to her," she said.

Delhi Police Commissioner Neeraj Kumar said deploying a female constable at women's help desk is not enough since "it is not necessary that she would be sensitive to women as both the men and women in our society today have the same mentality--that men should dominate women".

"A father would proudly claim that his son is a 'goonda' and he has five girlfriends but the same father won't say that his daughter has five male friends. So rape is not just a law and order problem and to eradicate it, we need to address the gender divide in society," he said.

Justice Mittal said women's individuality and personality are completely repressed. "Even her sexuality is controlled by her husband, something which is totally hers. This is something very deep- rooted in our society about which we are not even conscious about," she said.

"The woman would have to cross many barriers like her shyness, opposition from her family and society before coming up to you and explaining how her sexuality was violated," said Justice Mittal.

New Delhi, January 2
Protests continued at Jantar Mantar in the Capital today as hundreds gathered demanding a death penalty for the accused in the brutal gangrape case of a 23-year-old paramedical student.

The protestors resolved to observe ‘Bharat bandh’ tomorrow. Not affiliated to any political outfit, several protestors have been handing out pamphlets, marked “black day” and “Bharat bandh on January 3”, at several protest sites for a few days now. Another group of protestors has started a Facebook page, titled the “16 December Kranti”, where they are posting messages and suggestions for the Justice Verma Commission.

“We started to collect messages on pieces of paper from protestors and the public, seeking suggestions on the security of women and punishment for the accused in the gangrape case,” said one of the protestors, Kirti Sharma.

Meanwhile, Rajesh Gangwar and Babu Singh, two protestors who have been on a hunger strike for the past few days, continued their protest.

Gangwar from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh has been on a fast for the last 10 days while Babu Singh from Farrukhabad has been on a hunger strike for the last five days.