BHUBANESWAR: A lady sub-inspector (SI) of police was allegedly chased and threatened with murder by a group of armed miscreants while returning to her quarter after night duty in Bhubaneswar, police said on Wednesday.
This came at a time when the death of 20-year-old Anjali Singh in Delhi exposed the glaring truth of how public spaces are increasingly becoming hostile to women.
Police sources said SI Subhashree Nayak (36), posted in Mahila police station in the capital, was returning to her government quarters on Reserve Police office premises at about 1.30 am on Monday when more than three persons coming from the opposite direction in an SUV reportedly tried to hit her car near Science Park in Acharya Vihar. The anti-socials allegedly tried to stop her and hurled abuses in obscene language.
Terrified over the incident, Nayak hurriedly continued to travel towards her quarters but her ordeal did not end there. The unidentified miscreants suddenly took a U-turn and started chasing the lady police officer.
In the complaint lodged in Saheed Nagar police station, Nayak, who was in uniform, mentioned that she spotted one of the miscreants armed with a sword. The anti-social reportedly leaned out of the car's window, brandished the weapon and asked her to stop.
"One of the miscreants asked to stop and threatened to kill me. I hurriedly entered the Reserve Police office premises through its back gate and managed to escape from them," read Nayak's complaint.
Meanwhile, Saheed Nagar police on Monday registered a case in this connection under Sections 294, 341, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). "A probe has been launched to identify and nab the miscreants involved in threatening and harassing the lady SI," said an officer of Saheed Nagar police station.
The police's initial investigation suggests that the accused are not known to Nayak and they were possibly under the influence of alcohol when they harassed her.
"The miscreants have been identified and efforts are on to nab them," the official added.