BHUBANESWAR: Five days after the brutal assault on the army officer and his fiancée in police custody, seven youths were detained on Friday for allegedly misbehaving and manhandling the couple on September 15 night.
This incident of manhandling had forced the couple to approach Bharatpur police where they ended up being victims of extremely distressing custodial excesses.
The Crime Branch (CB) of Odisha Police, which registered a case against unknown persons as well as police personnel for allegedly assaulting the couple the same night, also questioned the youths on the day.
Chandaka police too registered a case in this connection as the alleged incident took place in Patharagadia area which comes under their jurisdiction.
Sources said the cops are trying to ascertain if the youths first harassed the couple near Patharagadia and then chased them till the end of Chandaka police station’s jurisdiction for which the duo was compelled to lodge a complaint in neighbouring Bharatpur police station.
Of the seven, some are reported to be students. One car and mobile phones were seized from them, said police.
The army officer and his fiancée had claimed that they visited Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint against the unidentified miscreants but were unable to submit their report as they were subjected to custodial torture.
DCP Prateek Singh said, “The army officer and his fiancée were returning from Patia when they had a heated exchange with a group of youths reportedly over an incident of road rage. The accused harassed the couple at around 2.20 am after which they visited Bharatpur police station at 2.40 am to lodge a complaint in this regard. However, Chandaka police registered a case as the incident had taken place under their jurisdiction.”
A video of the heated exchange between the youths and the couple went viral on the day.
