Crime Branch Begins Probe Into ‘Assault’ Allegations Of Army Officer & Cops In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: A five-member team of Crime Branch CID visited Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar to probe the allegations of custodial misconduct and molestation of the fiancée of a serving officer of Indian Army.

This came hours after DGP Y B Khurania ordered a Crime Branch probe into allegations and counter-allegation of assault by the cops and the army man and asked for withdrawal of the complaint lodged against his fiancée. While Major Gurvansh Singh was detained and then let off, his fiancée was arrested for allegedly creating fracas at the police station and assaulting a woman cop.

CID additional director general Arun Bothra in a statement earlier said that Narendra Kumar Behera, a DSP-ranked officer, will take up the investigation of the case and other cases registered in that connection.

The team led by Behera questioned the Bharatpur polices station personnel for over four hours and examined the case documents, sources said.

THE CASE

The Army officer posted in West Bengal and his fiancée, a techie and a local, were allegedly brutally assaulted by on-duty cops at Bharatpur police station here when they approached to register a complaint of road rage in the early hours of Sunday. The couple has 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 couple alleged that a verbal scuffle broke out with police calling them names when they requested expedited action. The situation escalated when they demanded to speak to higher authorities. The officer was allegedly 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 even allegedly threatened to rape her.

He was manhandled and detained for over 10 hours before being released following intervention by Army authorities, the complainant further alleged.

The couple was later taken to a private hospital, where it was confirmed that “the woman’s jaw had been dislocated, nose broken with several other wound marks on the body”. They were later taken back to the police station in the evening and fake charges were filed against her and she was arrested, they added.

“An incident of manhandling of an Army officer by Police Station, Bharatpur, #Orissa has been reported in media. #IndianArmy takes a serious view of the incidence. Necessary action has been taken up with the state authorities,” wrote Surya Command IA on social media account X.

POLICE VERSION

Police, however, have denied these allegations, stating that the couple was intoxicated and uncooperative. When the lady officer requested the couple to file a written complaint, they started arguing. The couple misbehaved with the on-duty personnel, and the woman attacked a female officer and damaged property. Two liquor bottles were found in the couple’s car, and they refused to undergo a breathalyzer test. “The couple refused to comply with the instruction and began to misbehave with the officer. The situation escalated as they physically pushed the lady officer and assaulted her. Our lady officer alleged that the woman bit her hand. Our investigation is in progress,” additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP) Suresh Chandra Patra had earlier told TOI.

A case would be registered against them for creating ruckus and misbehaving with the lady officer, police said.