NHRC Moved Over ‘Torture’ Charge By Woman Cop Against Odisha IPS Officer

Bhubaneswar: In a fresh development in the alleged torture of a woman home guard by the wife of a senior IPS officer in Odisha’s Angul, an activist on Tuesday moved the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) seeking action against the Police DIG and compensation to the victim.

After the woman home guard reportedly blamed Angul DIG Brijesh Rai’s wife for her suicide bid in which she lost both her limbs, human rights activist Jayanata Das filed a complaint with the NHRC.

Besides demanding stern action against the Police DIG and his wife, the complainant sought a compensation of Rs 30 lakh for the home guard. The compensation amount should be sourced from the salary of the police officer.

The complaint was filed after the woman home guard, Souridri Sahu brought serious allegations against the wife of DIG Rai and claimed that she lost both her legs in a suicide attempt after failing to bear the torture. She is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack.

Meanwhile, the Odisha government has transferred Rai, a 2009-batch IPS officer, hailing from Mau district of Uttar Pradesh, to state police headquarters, Cuttack.

The incident has also sparked criticism by political parties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) terming the incident as shameful.

Condemning the incident, state BJP vice president Lekhashree Samantsinghar demanded strong action against those involved in the episode and steps to prevent recurrence of such acts.

Senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Amar Prasad Satapathy said the government will definitely take action if any such incident comes to the fore.

In a letter to Home Guard DG Sudhanshu Sarangi, Souridri narrated her ordeal while alleging that she was  forced to clean the DIG’s house, wash their clothes and also clean dishes. She accused Rai’s wife of beating and humiliating her for negligence in household works and threatening to get her dismissed from job. Souridri has demanded compensation of Rs 5 lakh and home guard job for her elder daughter.

The IPS officer, however, dismissed the allegations of harassment and attributed the victim’s drastic action to mental distress, owing to personal issues.