Army Issues 24/7 Helpline After Custodial Assault Of Officer In Odisha Capital

New Delhi/ Bhubaneswar: Following the custody assault of an army captain in Bhubaneswar, the Indian Army has launched a 24/7 helpline service for soldiers and veterans.

The helpline, 155306, is strictly for emergency or assault and exclude non-crisis issues such as land disputes and marital conflicts. “Calls to the helpline will be recorded, allowing for efficient follow-up in each case. Through integrated coordination with provost units and civil authorities, the system will enable swift responses across the country,” the India Today reported, quoting sources.

The helpline will be managed by trained Military Police personnel and aims at enhancing support and security for Army personnel amid rising incidents of assault, it added.

The alleged custodial abuse of Army officer and sexual harassment of his fiancée at Bharatpur police station here on the intervening night of September 14 and 15 had snowballed into a major embarrassment for Odisha police. The incident took place when they had gone to the police station to register a complaint of road rage.

The Army had also raised concerns with the Odisha government, which ordered a time-bound judicial probe into custodial abuse case. DGP Y B Khurania also suspended five cops and ordered a Crime Branch (CB) probe into incident.

Last month, the CB informed the judicial commission headed by Justice C R Dash that the polygraph tests of all five police personnel were completed at Gandhinagar in Gujarat along with brain mapping and narco-analysis tests of former inspector in-charge of Bharatpur police station, Dinakrushna Mishra.

Though the investigating agency has received the reports, it is yet to disclose the results since it is awaiting the examination reports of the mobile phones of the accused cops and the victim couple from the SFSL in Bhubaneswar, sources said.