Bhubaneswar: Amid an ongoing Crime Branch probe into alleged custodial assault of an Army officer and his fiancée, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania on Wednesday suspended five cops, including former IIC of Bharatpur police station, and initiated disciplinary action against them for gross misconduct.
This is being seen as a face-saving exercise by the state police, which had earlier refuted these allegations and shifted the IIC and two other cops for facilitating fair investigation, amid Odisha Ex-Serviceman League’s demand for an independent inquiry by the judiciary or the CBI.
Stating that such misbehaviour with a serving Army Captain by police was unacceptable, retired officials of armed forces, who staged a protest against the incident in Bhubaneswar, on Wednesday said that suspension was not enough and criminal proceedings should be initiated against the accused police officers.
Also Read: 5 Bhubaneswar Cops Suspended In Army Captain ‘Custody Assault’ Case
On the intervening night of September 14 and 15, Captain Gurvansh Singh Gosal of 22 Sikh Regiment and his fiancée were detained over allegations that they misbehaved with police officers at Bharatpur police station. While he was later let off, his fiancée was arrested for allegedly creating fracas and assaulting a woman cop.
Police alleged the couple misbehaved with the lady diary charge officer and two other female officers at the police station.
The Army officer, posted in West Bengal, in turn, alleged that they were brutally assaulted by on-duty cops at Bharatpur police station when they approached them to register a complaint of road rage. The Captain was allegedly manhandled and kept in the lockup and when his fiancée protested, she was allegedly taken to a secluded room by a female officer, where she was assaulted, stripped and molested. Bharatpur police station IIC Dinakrushna Mishra (subsequently transferred and suspended) even allegedly threatened to rape her. The officer was released following intervention by Army authorities, the complainant had alleged.
Also Read: Crime Branch Begins Probe Into ‘Assault’ Allegations Of Army Major & Cops In Bhubaneswar
The couple also accused police of attempting to cover up their wrongdoings by releasing a statement falsely accusing them of assaulting and misbehaving with their staff.
The incident, however, has thrown up several other questions:
1. Why was the Captain manhandled, stripped and thrown into the lockup?
2. Why was a serving officer kept in the custody for around 10 hours without intimating the local military authority as mandated?
3. What was the police’s intent behind releasing a statement to the media on the incident when high-ranking military officer and police officer had already connected to resolve the issue and were collaborating?
4. Why police have not yet released the cell phone of the officer, which was reportedly used by his fiancée to record the cops’ behaviour?
5. Why there are no CCTV cameras installed in Bharatpur police station?
President of Odisha Ex-servicemen League, Brigadier (retd) Antaryami Pradhan earlier told the media that they had sought an independent inquiry as there are no CCTV cameras at the police station, which could have proved the police personnel’s highhandedness. He also mentioned that police confiscated the Army officer’s mobile phone, which has the recordings, and also seized his identity card.
Sources said that Local Mil Authority (Sub Area Cdr) and Odisha DGP had a conversation over the incident at 3.07 pm on September 15.
Meanwhile, the Orissa High Court has asked for a medical report of the Army officer’s fiancee.
