BHUBANESWAR: Trouble has mounted for inspector Sandhyarani Jena, who is accused of torturing a mother-son duo in custody while serving as IIC of Talachua police station in Kendrapara district on May 25 this year, after a preliminary inquiry revealed gross misconduct, abuse of official position, dereliction of duty and suppression of evidence by her.
One Annapurna Mandal (55) and her son Ananta Kumar Mandal (31) from Giria Pahi village in Kendrapara had accused Talachua Marine police station personnel of assaulting and confining them inside a toilet for nearly four hours.
The alleged incident had taken place after Annapurna’s husband Manoranjan Mandal lodged a complaint in Talachua Marine police station on May 24 following a family dispute involving his wife and son. The next day, Annapurna and Ananta were summoned to the police station for questioning. However, the two alleged that they were brutally assaulted while in custody.
The two had then lodged a complaint with Pattamundai SDPO Sukanta Kumar Patra on May 27. While Jena had refuted the allegations and claimed innocence, she was suspended and posted as inspector in CID-CB, Cuttack. Kendrapara SP Siddharth Kataria had then ordered a probe by the SDPO Patra into the allegations. Patra’s preliminary inquiry revealed that CCTV footage from the police station had been intentionally formatted and deleted.
The CCTV technician stated that the system was functioning properly and that the passwords had been shared with the then IIC Jena, shortly before the footage was deleted. It was also established that all hard disks were formatted and the deletion appeared deliberate rather than automatic.
The medical examination of Ananta at CHC Rajnagar also revealed an abrasion injury assessed to be within 24 hours of the incident, lending corroboration to the assault allegations.
After receiving SDPO’s report, the DGP in-charge Vinaytosh Mishra had recently sought explanation from Jena. However, as the officer’s explanation was found not to be satisfactory, the DGP has ordered a departmental inquiry against her.
Kendrapara additional SP Sudhakar Sahoo has been appointed as the inquiring officer. The district’s Investigative Unit on Crime against Women (IUCAW) DSP Gopinath Pradhan will serve as the marshalling officer. Mishra has directed the officers to complete the inquiry and submit its findings within 45 days.
