Bhubaneswar: Horrifying details of a lawyer and her fiancé, an Indian army captain being allegedly subjected to gross misbehaviour and physical abuse at a city police station, where they had gone seeking help against a gang of hooligans chasing them, have sent shockwaves across Odisha while leaving the entire police establishment red-faced.
With pressure mounting from all sides — even the National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and sought an action taken report — director general of police (DGP) Y.B. Khurania ordered a Crime Branch probe into the case and has placed five cops accused of misbehaviour with the couple under suspension, but there are no signs of public uproar over the issue subsiding anytime soon.
Calling the incident “shocking,” former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has demanded a judicial inquiry in this matter.
“This is very very shocking… We demand a full judicial inquiry into this matter and action must be taken very quickly,” Patnaik said, while speaking to media persons on Friday (September 20).
In fact, public anger seems to be also growing with more details of the alleged gruesome incident that took place last Sunday (September 15) coming to light with the victim, the daughter of a retired brigadier, herself narrating her ordeal to media persons after being discharged from AIIMS, Bhubaneswar where she was treated for various injuries including a broken jaw. The victim, whose fiancé captain Gurvansh Singh Gosal is attached to the Sikh Regiment of the Army, currently posted in West Bengal, runs a restaurant in Bhubaneswar and also practices law.
Also read: Demanding Death Penalty Is the Neta’s Way of Avoiding Institutional Reform
On Sunday night, the woman and her fiancé were returning home in their car after closing the restaurant when they were allegedly chased by a gang of goons following a road rage incident near Pathargadia. Sensing danger the couple allegedly drove away and reached the Bharatpur police station and pleaded for help. They wanted the police to go out and nab the hooligans.
However, what followed was a horror story. Talking to media persons in Bhubaneswar on Thursday (September 19) the woman alleged that she was beaten, kicked and dragged through the corridors of Bharatpur police station. She was also allegedly molested and the officer in charge of the police station unzipped himself before her and made humiliating remarks.
Released on bail on the orders of the Orissa high court on Wednesday (September 18), the lawyer said, “We went to the police station to file a case. There was nobody there except a woman police constable sitting at the reception. We requested her to register the complaint but instead of doing that she misbehaved with me.”
The behaviour of the policewoman on duty allegedly became even more aggressive when she came to know that the victim was a lawyer.
In the meantime, a police patrolling vehicle with several cops including some women reached the police station. But instead of relief their arrival meant more torture for the lawyer.
“Two female officers started pulling my hair and began beating me. When I pleaded with them to stop, they dragged me through the corridor of the police station. I bit the hand of one of them. They removed my jacket and tied both my hands with it. They used a scarf to tie both my legs. Later, a male officer came and continuously kicked on my chest after removing my bra. Then the inspector of the police station came, unzipped his trousers, showed his genitals and taunted me,” the victim said.
Details of police atrocities against the couple at the police station have also been mentioned by Gosal in a written complaint to the state’s additional director general of police (Crime Branch) Arun Bothra. The army officer alleged in his complaint that the inspector in-charge (IIC) of the police station sexually harassed and molested the victim.
“I could hear the screams for 30 minutes. Thereafter my fiancé was illegally arrested and forwarded to the court,” he said adding that while he was writing the complaint, four police officers held him and dragged him to one of the cells where they removed his pants and took away all his belongings including his wallet, mobile phone, army identity card and keys of his car. He was allegedly locked up inside the cell illegally at 3 am while the lawyer was being physically assaulted by two lady police officers.
Gosal’s request to the constable on duty at the police station to call the IIC so that he could explain to the latter the protocol involved in the detention of an army officer allegedly fell on deaf ears. He was curtly told that the IIC would explain everything to him when he came.
“I was subjected to illegal custody, harassment and mental torture,” the officer noted adding that the lawyer was dragged into a room and stripped and brutally assaulted by police personnel when she demanded to see the warrant justifying her arrest.
Also read: Interview | How a High-Level Sub Committee Probed Sexual Harassment in Telugu Cinema
Following the public outcry the DGP suspended five police officers including inspector in-charge of Bharatpur police station, Dinakrushna Mishra, sub inspector Baisalini Panda, women assistant sub-inspectors (WASI) Salilamayee Sahoo, WASI Sagarika Rath and constable Balaram Hansda. They have been directed to remain under the disciplinary control of the commissioner of police. The DGP has also ordered a hunt to be launched for the arrest of the hooligans who chased the army officer and his fiancé on Sunday with the assurance that “all wrongdoers will be identified and strict action will be taken against them.”
While the Orissa high court, which granted the lawyer bail on Wednesday, has asked the government to pursue the case with utmost seriousness and advised the police to try to gain the confidence of the general public, the NCW has sought an action taken report (ATR) from the DGP within three days.
“The National Commission for Women takes suo motu cognisance of allegations made by an army officer and his lady friend regarding their custodial abuse by Odisha Police. A formal letter has been sent to the DGP, requesting an action taken report within three days. Urgent disciplinary action is expected,” the NCW posted on its official X handle on Tuesday (September 17).
Meanwhile, protests in Bhubaneswar are getting louder.
On Wednesday, the ex-army personnel association staged a demonstration near the commissionerate police building and demanded strict action against the guilty police officials. The lawyer’s father, brigadier (retired) Antaryami Pradhan said his daughter’s jaw had been dislocated and she had lost a tooth in the wake of the assault by the police personnel. “I want criminal action to be initiated against the suspended cops,” Pradhan told media persons.
The incident, while further damaging the already tainted image of the police force, has left the ordinary citizens in a state of utter shock.
“If such a thing can happen in the capital city imagine what must be happening in smaller towns and in the interior areas of the state. Our state already has a bad reputation as far as safety of women is concerned. Such incidents are going to further reinforce that image,” said Pragyan Mishra, a Bhubaneswar-based voluntary sector worker whose job entails late hours in office.
Similar feelings were echoed by Prashant Rath, a college professor, who has a grown up daughter. “Now people like me will be scared of letting their children stay out for long hours. Things are going from bad to worse in this city which was so peaceful till a few years ago,” said Rath.
