Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Sept 20: A gory incident of an army officer being allegedly illegally detained and his fiancée stripped and physically assaulted by the police personnel in a police station in Odisha capital city of Bhubaneswar has rocked the conscience of the country.
The Odisha chief minister Mohan Majhi has promised stringent actions against the guilty police personnel and the Odisha State Commission for Women (SCW) began an investigation into the incident after taking suo-motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault case, while the former chief minister Naveen Patnaik deploring the incident has demanded a court-monitored probe by a Special Investigation Team.
The army officer in a complaint to Odisha’s Additional Director General of Police (Crime Branch) filed on Wednesday recounted the unsavoury events of the night of September 15 levelling grave charges by accusing the inspector-in-charge (IIC) of the station of molesting his fiancée and other on-duty police personnel of stripping and assaulting her in custody.
The officer, a captain in the Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army currently posted in West Bengal, along with his fiancée had gone to Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint about a road rage incident against 10 to 12 miscreants, all local youths, who came in three cars, stopped his car, scuffled with them, assaulted him and threatened them of dire consequences near Pathargadia area of the city, without any reason.
“The police station had one constable and an on-duty woman assistant sub-inspector of police, who refused to listen to our complaint and provide protection to us for going back home. Later the police patrol came back and I approached the sub-inspector who was in-charge at the time to register an FIR,” he narrated.
“Whilst I was writing the complaint, four police officers held me and dragged to one of the cells where they removed my pants and took all my belongings including my wallet, mobile phone, Army identity card and keys of my car. I was locked up inside the cell illegally at 3 am. Meanwhile, my fiancée was physically assaulted by two lady police officers in the lobby,” he mentioned in the complaint.
When the officer requested the constable to call the SI so that he could explain about the arrest protocols of an Army officer and how it required either an arrest warrant from a magistrate or on FIR of either rape or murder, he was told that the IIC would clarify why he was put in custody from 3 a.m. to 6.30 a.m.
“I was subjected to illegal custody, harassment and mental torture. At 6 a.m., when my fiancée being a lawyer by profession demanded the arrest warrant from the police authorities, she was dragged into a room and was stripped and brutally assaulted by four male and three female police officers including the SI in-charge,” he charged.
The Army captain said, “The IIC upon arrival sexually harassed and molested my fiancée and I could hear the screams for 30 minutes. Thereafter, my fiancée was illegally arrested and forwarded to the court.” Considering the gravity of allegations, the Orissa High Court granted bail to the fiancée of the army officer in departure of established court procedure.
As per the practice, HC can take up a bail application only after the same is rejected by the District and Sessions Judge. However, the Orissa HC accepted direct bail petition moved by fiancée of army officer. In the order, the court expressed concerns over police action. The issue had triggered nationwide outrage.
The fiancée in her statement also accused the inspector-in-charge (IIC) and another officer of “sexually harassing and molesting” her. Sharing her distressing account with the media, she stated that this happened on the morning of September 15 and claimed she was “wrongfully thrown into jail.”
“I don’t know what happened, they put him in the lockup. When I raised the voice that they cannot put an Army officer in custody as it is unlawful, two female officers started physically assaulting me. I kept pleading to them to stop but they didn’t,” she alleged. The woman further alleged that the police woman dragged her through the corridor, and when the officer tried to grab her neck, she fought back and bit her hand.
The police personnel then put her in a room after tying her hands and legs, she alleged. “After some time, a male officer opened the doors and kicked on my breasts several times and left,” the woman added. “Then the IIC came, he lowered down my pants and his as well. Showing his private part, he asked me how much time you want to remain silent,” the woman alleged.
Condemning the incident as “very shocking,” Mr Patnaik, the BJD president on Friday said called for a court-monitored SIT investigation and a judicial inquiry into the incident. “The way an Army Major and a lady were treated in Bharatpur Police Station is shocking and beyond comprehension. The manner in which police have allegedly treated them has shaken the conscience of the country,” Patnaik stated in a post on X.
Mr Patnaik, the leader of the opposition in the assembly, condemned the “heinous” act and expressed his party’s expectation that the BJP government would take the strongest possible action against all those involved.
Mr Majhi, who was on a tour of his home district, Keonjhar, said: “The State Government has already ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into the incident, suspended the accused police personnel, and also registered a case against them.” The CM, who is also in charge of the Home Department, said his government would not hesitate to take action against the culprits involved in the case. “The Government has been taking all steps required in the case. There should be no worries over it. The Government is fully aware about the incident and will take strong action in the case,” Mr Majhi said.
The Odisha SCW began an investigation into the incident after taking suo-motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault case. SCW Chairperson Minati Behera visited the Bharatpur police station on Friday to inquire about the incident, holding discussions with staff and collecting relevant case documents. Speaking to reporters after visiting the police station, Ms Behera said, “We have suo-motu taken the case and started an inquiry. As the crime branch has taken over the case, they took away the documents. So, we have collected whatever documents available with the Bharatpur police station.”
Ms Behera said she would visit the victim’s house and talk to her. The commission will also visit the office of the crime branch to collect required documents and discuss with the investigating officials, she said.