Bhubaneswar: The General Officer-Commanding in Chief of Madhya Bharat area, Lt Gen PS Shekhawat has written a letter to the Chief Justice of High Court of Orissa justice, Chakradhari Sharan Singh, requesting for suo motu intervention in the alleged police torture of Army Major Major Gurvansh Singh and “sexual harassment” of his fiancée at Bharatpur police station, Bhubaneswar, on the night of September 14.
Major Gurvansh Singh and his fiancée were meted out inhuman treatment when they approached the Bharatpur police seeking action against some anti-socials who chased and abused them while returning home on September 14 night.
“The prestige of a serving Army Officer was demeaned and the modesty and dignity of his fiancée, who also happens to be the daughter of a retired Brigadier, was grossly outraged by the police authorities. The police officers on duty acted in a manner unbecoming of their position. They not only humiliated the lady but also molested her and also disrespected the Army Officer by putting him under custody without any charge for almost 14 hours. The medical inspection of the lady also indicates grave injuries, which point to manhandling by the police personnel. The Bharatpur Police Station does not have a CCTV installed which is violative of Supreme Court’s directions. The police actions and their purported statements are manipulative and aimed at concealing the police brutality on the lady and the officer,” Lt Gen PS Shekhawat wrote.
Major Gurvansh Singh serves in the Indian Army’s Sikh Regiment while his fiancé is a lawyer.
What is quite shocking is the inconsistencies in the statements of senior police officers of the state. While Bhubaneswar Commissioner of Police Sanjeeb Panda says the Bharatpur police station had CCTV, the Crime Branch clearly dismissed this claim.
Contrasting differences have also emerged from the statements of Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Prateek Singh and the lady victim.
Speaking to ANI, Bhubaneswar DCP Prateek Singh on September 17 said that both the Army Major and his fiancé had come to the police station at Bharatpur in an “inappropriate state.”
“When they reached the police station they appeared in an inappropriate state. They started talking to the officer in an aggressive manner and started shouting at the officer. The lady misbehaved with the concerned officer at the police station. Those present at the police station were misbehaved and hurled abuses. It appeared that she (Army Major’s fiancé) was not in a proper state of mind and was intoxicated. She started threatening officers. The lady slapped a woman officer and bit her fingers when she tried to stop her. When she could not be controlled, the IIC came and she also misbehaved with him. His male friend started arguing as well. Under such circumstances, a case was registered against them. The lady was arrested subsequently under several sections,” Singh had told the news agency.
On the other hand, Ankita on Thursday alleged “sexual harassment” by on-duty police officers inside the police station.
“I was physically and sexually assaulted by the on-duty police officers including the inspector-in-charge Dinakrushna Mishra of Bharatpur,” she said.
Meanwhile, a video circulating in social media showed the Army Major and his fiancé approaching Bharat police station on the night of September 14 to lodge a complaint about the harassment meted out to them by some anti-social youths while they were returning home after taking their dinner in a restaurant. Contrary to the DCP’s claim, the Army Major appears quite normal and writes a complaint in a cool and composed manner. In the video, the Army Major’s fiancé can be heard raising questions about the functioning of the police officers and their conduct inside the police station.
Former Police official Sarat Sahu said that it is a condemnable incident and it could have been avoided.
“There has been excessive action by the police. But we also need to hear the version of the lady officer who was present at the police station,” said Sahu.
Amidst the ongoing controversy, several questions have cropped up over the CCTV cameras at Bharatpur Police Station. On March 11, 2024, Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda while the inauguration of the police station said, “The Bharatpur police station has been inaugurated by the CM (Naveen Patnaik) and it is a model police station with the latest facilities to cater to the requirement of all sections of the society.”
However, soon after the incident involving the Army Major and his fiancee happened, it was said that there was no CCTV camera at the police station. On September 17, Crime Branch DSP said, “We are seeing that there is no CCTV, we are looking into the matter.”
The incident has also kicked off a major political storm in Odisha, with Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik on Thursday demanding a judicial probe and the BJP countering the former CM.
The role of police officials has come under scanner as, despite a written complaint lodged by an Army Major regarding harassment by road Romeos, no action was initially taken by the officials of the concerned police station. It was only after the Odisha DGP ordered action against the road romeos, that the cops swung into action and took seven suspects into custody for interrogation.