Bhubaneswar: Leader of opposition and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday demanded a court-monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into Bharatpur police station incident in which fiancée of an army officer was allegedly assaulted and sexually harassed by police personnel.
This came a day after Captain Gurvansh Singh Gosal’s fiancée narrated gory details of her ordeal at the police station, where she was allegedly stripped, kicked on the chest and molested, before the media.
Condemning the incident on his X handle, Naveen wrote: “The way an Army officer and a lady were treated in Bharatpur Police Station is shocking and beyond comprehension. The manner in which police have allegedly treated them has shaken the conscience of the country. This has happened to a serving Army Officer and a lady within Odisha (sic).”
The former CM said that he expects the BJP government to take the strongest possible action against those involved. “During our government we had the system of Mo Sarkar in which Chief Minister, Ministers and Senior Officers would call the citizens to take feedback on their visits to government offices, including police stations and hospitals, whether they were treated with dignity and professional conduct. This BJP government has immediately stopped the pro-people initiative of Mo Sarkar and the consequences are visible,” he noted.
Naveen claimed that reluctance of the incumbent government to act against the governor’s son in a serious case of assault has emboldened others. “I still urge for action to be taken by this government against the Governor’s son. I demand a court monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into this grave incident against an Army Captain and the lady,” he added.
The Crime Branch, which is investigating the incident, has already registered a case against suspended inspector-in-charge (IIC) Dinakrushna Mishra of Bharatpur police station and some other cops for the alleged assault on the Army officer and molestation of his fiancée in custody.
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Sources said that arrest of the suspended IIC is imminent amid the national outrage over the incident, which has snowballed into a major embarrassment for Odisha police.
To salvage its image, the state police headquarters has decided to launch an etiquette training programme and ask the Commissionerate Police and SPs to conduct programmes to sensitise field officers to exhibit a friendly attitude towards complainants.
