JAGATSINGHPUR : Somalika Dash, ex- fiancee of Tirtol MLA Bijay Sankar Das, filed a protest petition in the Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Court, Jagatsinghpur, on Tuesday appealing to reopen a case that was previously closed by local police. Dash challenged the police’s final report, which declared the allegations of sexual harassment and cheating against MLA Das as baseless and false.
Dash had alleged that she was subjected to regular sexual harassment by the MLA and filed an FIR against him at Jagatsinghpur police station on June 18, 2022. She accused him of betrayal, sexual harassment, and cheating.
The police initially registered a case against the MLA under various sections of the IPC and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, but had not included Section 376 (rape). Subsequently, Dash sought the intervention of the Orissa High Court, leading to the registration of a fresh case against MLA Das and his family members in March 2023.
Despite Dash giving multiple statements to police, the MLA was reportedly not summoned while the police submitted a final report to the local court on November 5, 2023, deeming the case baseless and false.
On Tuesday, Dash’s counsel, Amiya Mohapatra, lodged a protest petition in the local SDJM court against the final report of the police. Dash also appeared before the court, urging to reopen the case to ensure justice.
Mohapatra said, “Under pressure, police prematurely closed this case and submitted a final report, labeling it baseless and false.”
It may be recalled that on September 21, 2023, MLA Bijay Sankar Das had applied for marriage registration with another girl at the district sub-registrar office in Cuttack, ignoring his prior engagement with Dash, who had accused him of sexual harassment. Dash submitted a written complaint citing the ongoing case against Das in Jagatsinghpur police station, resulting in the suspension of Das’s marriage registration.
