BHOPAL: A Director General (DG) rank Indian Police Service (IPS) officer was removed from his post on Monday after a video showing him assaulting his wife went viral on social media on Sunday night.
In the video, the 1986 batch IPS officer Purshottam Sharma was seen pulling his wife by her hair and also beating her up.
The Madhya Pradesh home department order on Monday read that Sharma, who headed the state police's prosecution wing, has been relieved of his charge with immediate effect. According to official sources, the senior IPS officer has been attached to the home department for the time being.
Sharma's son has written to the state police and government for action against his father, but instead of registering any case against the influential police officer and suspending him, the state government has merely relieved him from his present administrative post.
When contacted by journalists over the matter, the state's home minister Narottam Mishra said, "I've seen and read about the matter. If any written complaint comes to us, then we'll act."
Both the home minister and the concerned IPS officer hail from the same Gwalior-Chambal region of MP.
Meanwhile, the IPS officer's wife has reportedly moved the MP State Women Commission against her husband seeking action against him and police protection for herself, alleging a threat to her life from him.
Reacting to the development, the IPS officer Purshottam Sharma said, "I haven't committed any crime. It's a family matter between me and my wife. If she is so angry with me, why does she live with me and travel abroad on my money. This is my family matter and I'll resolve it myself. The matter pertains to a small scuffle in self-defence. I haven't beaten her. Only my wife and son can tell why they made the video viral. My wife has installed CCTV cameras in the house and stalks me whereever I go. I'm myself troubled. She had lodged a complaint against me in 2008 also. If she is so troubled due to me, why is she living with me?"
Two videos went viral over social media on Sunday night. In one video, the senior IPS officer is seen sitting in the house of another woman. His wife suddenly storms into that house and the couple subsequently indulge in a verbal spat in the presence of the other woman.
In the other video, the same IPS officer is seen assaulting his wife in the presence of his personal staff possibly inside his house.
His wife too is seen indulging in a scuffle with him. In the same video, the IPS officer is seen shouting that she (his wife) injured him with a knife, while his wife is heard saying she hurt him with a pair of scissors out of self-defence.