BHUBANESWAR: The fiancée of the army officer on Thursday made shocking revelations of sexual assault, illegal confinement and humiliation at the hands of a group of female and male cops on September 15 night when she along with her partner went to the police station in Bhubaneswar seeking help.
The victim told mediapersons that when she and the army officer were returning after closing her restaurant, unidentified miscreants intercepted them at about 1 am. This led to a scuffle but the two somehow got away and went to Bharatpur police station to seek assistance.
When they reached the police station, a woman constable in civil dress was sitting at the reception desk. The officer and his fiancée requested her to register the complaint and send a patrol to nab the miscreants who misbehaved with them but to no avail, she said.
When she demanded assistance, the on-duty police personnel allegedly abused her. Despite disclosing that she was a lawyer, the abusive behaviour got worse. “A while later, some lady and male officers arrived at the police station and gave an opportunity to my fiancee to write a complaint but suddenly, they took him into custody. When I requested that putting an army officer in custody was unlawful, two women officers caught hold of my hair, started thrashing me and just did not stop,” the visibly distraught woman said.
The woman further alleged the police personnel dragged her on the corridor of the police station. When a woman constable tried to throttle her, she bit her hand. “They tied my hands using my jacket, and legs with a lady constable’s scarf before putting me in a room. A male officer then came inside, removed my innerwear and started kicking my chest continuously,” she said.
She said, the harrowing ordeal did not end there.
At around 6 am, the IIC of the police station arrived.
“He lowered my pant as well as his. He then flashed his genital, asking me to shut up,” she said.
The woman’s father said that she suffered multiple injuries due to police assault and her treatment will continue at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for four to five more days.
On Wednesday, the army officer lodged a formal complaint with Crime Branch (CB) ADG Arun Bothra. The Crime Branch has, so far, registered two cases in connection with the sensational incident. The first case relates to the allegations against the army officer and his fiancée of assault while the second is based on the couple’s complaint against the unidentified miscreants as well as police torture in custody.
Two DSP-ranked officers have been entrusted investigation of the cases. So far, five police personnel have been suspended for gross misconduct over assault and torture of the couple.
