A woman, who is eight months’ pregnant, was allegedly made to walk 3km in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district in the scorching sun as she was not wearing a helmet while riding pillion on her husband’s motorcycle.

Police took Bikram Biruli, a Gramin Dak Sevak, to the police station but left his wife Gurubari on the road even after she pleaded to accompany him.

Later, she was forced to walk 3km to the police station. The incident took place on Sunday.

After the incident triggered a furore, Mayurbhanj district police placed the officer-in-charge of Sarat police station, Reena Baksal, under suspension on Monday.

Biruli, 24, told The Telegraph: “My wife, who is eight months’ pregnant, complained of pain in the abdomen on Sunday. So I decided to take her to the nearest subdivisional hospital in Udala, which is 40km from my village. On the way, we met a police team. The police officer in-charge asked us to pay Rs 500 as my wife was not wearing helmet.”

Biruli, a PhD scholar, asked the head of the police team and officer-in-charge Baksal to give them an e-challan which he would later pay.

“As I did not have the money, I asked them for an e-challan which I would later pay. They insisted on offline payment. This led to an argument following which they forced me to go with them in the police van.

“Though I asked the police team to take my wife with me in the van, the woman officer denied and abused me and misbehaved with me in front of my wife.”

Biruli said the incident took place at 9.30am on Sunday, 5km away from his village Matkami Sahi under Nota gram panchayat, around 260km from Bhubaneswar.

Gurubari, who has studied till Plus Two, said: “Even I pleaded with the woman officer to consider my health status as I am expecting a baby in May. My health condition is deteriorating day by day.

They did not listen to anything. I waited for my husband for nearly one-and-a-half hours. As he did not return, I decided to walk to the police station.”

Narrating her plight, Gurubari said: “It was almost 40 degrees Celsius that day. People started asking questions. I was terrified. Later I decided to walk. I had only one litre of water in a bottle with me.

“I started walking around 11am. I was feeling tired and it took me nearly one-and-a-half hours to reach the police station. Seeing my husband sitting on the floor in a miserable condition in the police station, I cried.”

Gurubari further said: “I am happy with the officer being suspended. I have only one appeal to the police that they should not misbehave with tribal people, particularly women.”

However by the afternoon, the family members came and paid the money and took away the motorcycle.

After the couple lodged a complaint with the higher authorities, Mayurbhanj superintendent of police ordered a probe and based on the report, the police officer has been suspended.

The district police also suspended constable R.K. Singh for allegedly misbehaving with a man during helmet checking near Karanjia on Monday evening.

“We are very sensitive towards the cause of the public,” Mayurbhanj superintendent of police Smit P. Parmar told this newspaper.