Bhubaneswar: Odisha DGP in-charge Arun Kumar Sarangi has suspended Sandhyarani Jena, IIC of Lakhanpur police station in Jharsuguda district, for alleged gross misconduct.
According to sources, the woman cop had reportedly shifted bodies of three persons, who had died after a truck hit their motorcycle under Lakhanpur police limits, to a nearby area near Goudapada Chhak, which comes under the jurisdiction of Belpahar police station, in a PCR van. While the truck was seized from the spot, the driver had managed to flee.
Amid media reports on the incident, Jena was transferred to the District Police Headquarters on January 18 and suspended, four days later.
During the suspension period, Jena will remain under disciplinary control of Jharsuguda SP.
However, this is not the first time that Jena has been suspended for misconduct. She was earlier suspended after a video of her ‘kicking and thrashing’ a youth inside Patna police station in Keonjhar district went viral in 2020
Taking a strong exception to physical torture, the Odisha Human Rights Commission had then directed the district SP and the officer concerned to submit a detailed report within four weeks. The Commission had also directed the Home Secretary and the Director-General of Police to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation to the youth by deducting the amount from the salary of the IIC.
Odisha Police, however, had later given Jena a clean chit in the matter.
