A chilling account of alleged brutality and sexual assault by Bhubaneswar police has come to light, with the fiancé of an army captain accusing officers of a horrific attack. The victim, a lawyer who runs a restaurant in the city, claims that she and her fiancé were waylaid by a group of people on Sunday midnight. Seeking justice, they approached the Bharatpur Police Station to file a case.
However, their attempt to seek help turned into a nightmare. The woman recounts how, upon reaching the police station, they were met with a hostile response from police officers. “A police patrolling vehicle with several cops, including female police, reached the police station. Then two female officers started pulling my hair and began thrashing me. When I pleaded with them to stop, they dragged me through the corridor of the police station,” she told the Hindustan Times.
The alleged assault escalated to a horrifying level. The woman claims that the officers tied her hands and legs with her own jacket and a scarf, before throwing her into a room. A male officer then allegedly kicked her repeatedly in the chest after removing her bra. The situation worsened further when the inspector of the police station allegedly unzipped his trousers, flashed his genitals, and molested her.
The following day, on September 16th, a first information report (FIR) was filed against the woman and the army officer, accusing them of assaulting police personnel. However, the army officer filed a formal complaint against the police officers on Wednesday at the Bharatpur police station, outlining the alleged assault.
Following bail orders from the Orissa High Court on Wednesday, the woman was released after being arrested on charges of assaulting police personnel. While the High Court may yet take up her plea to cancel the FIR, five police officers, including inspector Dinakrushna Mishra, have been suspended pending a probe by the state’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The National Commission for Women has also sought an action-taken report from the state Director General of Police in the case.
This incident has sparked outrage and raised serious concerns about police misconduct and the safety of citizens who approach the police for help. The investigation by the CID and the action taken by the National Commission for Women are crucial to ensure justice for the victim and prevent such incidents from happening in the future.
