Friday, 20 September 2024
Friday, 20 September 2024
Outrage gained momentum in Odisha on Friday, a day after an Indian Army officer’s fiancee spoke out to the media about how she was stripped and sexually assaulted inside Bharatpur police station in state capital Bhubaneswar.
The fiancee of the army officer told reporters that on September 15, a bunch of men on the road had harassed them and they had gone to the police station to seek help.
“When we reached the police station to lodge a complaint, a woman constable was there in civil dress. We approached her to lodge a complaint and send a patrol vehicle to arrest the miscreants. Instead of helping us, she abused me,” the woman alleged on Thursday.
She said more personnel arrived at the police station and the cops asked her fiancé to write a complaint but instead locked him up.
“I don’t know what happened, they put him in the lockup. When I raised my voice that they cannot put an army officer in custody as it is unlawful, two female officers started physically assaulting me,” she said.
She said she fought back and bit a female officer's hand as the officer grabbed her neck. Following this, she said, the cops tied her hands and legs and locked her in a room.
After that, the woman said, a male officer entered the room and began sexually assaulting her. "After some time, a male officer opened the doors and kicked on my breasts several times. He lowered my pants and his as well. Showing his private part, he asked me how much time you want to remain silent," the woman told the media.
The woman was taken into custody on September 15. The Odisha high court granted her bail on Thursday. She spoke to the media soon after.
Five police personnel, Bharatpur police station inspector-in-charge Dinakrushna Mishra, sub-inspectors Baisalini Panda, Salilamayee Sahoo, Sagarika Rath, and constable Balaram Hansda, were suspended on Wednesday, September 18.
According to an order issued by Odisha director-general of police (DGP) Y.B. Khurania, the five police personnel were suspended on the charge of gross misconduct.
Odisha police’s crime branch has registered a case against the suspended personnel with investigations currently under way, PTI reported on Friday.
On Thursday, the National Commission for Women sought an action-taken report from the Odisha DGP within three days.
Opposition leader and BJD president Naveen Patnaik said the incident indicates the "incompetence" of the BJP government in the state.
"All have heard of what recently happened to an Army Major and his fiancé at a police station here,” the former chief minister was quoted as saying on Friday by PTI.
“This is very very shocking news of the violence that was meted out to both of them and the alleged sexual assault on the Major's fiancé. We demand a full judicial inquiry into this matter and action must be taken very quickly.”
Patnaik referred to a previous case: "The day the BJP government refused to take action against the governor’s son on a serious case of assault, others got emboldened."
Congress leaders Sonali Sahu and Maisha Das described the BJP government as a “Talibani government”.
A group of women activists held a dharna in front of the Police Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The Odisha State Commission for Women has initiated its own investigation. Its chairperson Minati Behera visited the Bharatpur police station on Friday and collected documents. “We have suo motu taken the case and started an inquiry,” she was quoted as saying by PTI.
“As the crime branch has taken over the case, they took away the documents. So, we have collected whatever documents were available,” Behera said.
She said she planned to visit the survivor’s home and speak with her directly as part of the investigation.
In response to the mounting public pressure, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi said the administration had done what was needed. "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," Majhi said during a tour of his home district, Keonjhar, on Friday.
The government was fully aware of the gravity of the incident and would ensure that justice prevails, he said: "The government has been taking all steps required in the case. There should be no worries over it.”
