Army Officer’s Fiancee Narrates Police Custody Ordeal In Bhubaneswar; Alleges Sexual Assault

Bhubaneswar: As the alleged custodial assault of an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar triggered a major controversy, the woman victim on Thursday narrated her ordeal and alleged sexual assault by the cops.

In her first interaction with the media after the incident, the woman alleged that she was sexually harassed by on-duty police personnel inside the police station.

Notably, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania has ordered a Crime Branch probe into the incident, suspended five police officers, sought report on police stations with no CCTV cameras across the state and ordered for registration of case against ‘hooligans’ who attacked Army officer of Sikh Regiment Major Gurvansh Singh and his fiancee while they were returning home on September 14 night.

Speaking to reporters after a health check-up at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, the Army officer’s fiancée alleged that she was physically and sexually assaulted by the on-duty police officers including the IIC of Bharatpur police station.

She said she was returning with the Army officer after closing her restaurant at around 1 am  when some miscreants obstructed and misbehaved with them. They managed to escape and reached Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint about the incident. “We saw a woman constable at the reception and requested her to register the complaint, but she started hurling abuses at us,” she said.

Thereafter, a male officer came and forcibly put Gurvansh in the lockup, she said, adding, “I requested the police personnel to release him as an Army officer cannot be put in custody which is unlawful. Then, two female officers dragged me by holding my hair and started thrashing me. A woman officer even tried to strangle my throat and I bit her hand in self-defence,” the woman said.

She further stated that the police personnel then tied her hands with her jacket and legs with a scarf of a woman constable and put her inside a cell. “A male police officer then sexually assaulted me. At around 6 am, the IIC came and assaulted me sexually,” she claimed.