Bhubaneswar: The former SDPO of Khandapada in Odisha’s Nayagarh district, Madan Mohan Pradhan, has been suspended amid an ongoing probe of serious allegations of sexual harassment against him, the Odisha DGP office informed on Saturday.
The DSP-rank officer was initially shunted to district headquarters after being booked under BNS Sections 296 (obscene acts/songs), 75(2) (sexual harassment), 78(2) (stalking) and 351(4) (criminal intimidation) following a complaint lodged on April 13 by the 31-year-old woman.
The woman, a resident of the Fatehgarh police station area, approached police after Pradhan allegedly misused his position while handling a case she had registered in July 2025. In her complaint, she stated that she had filed a case against a neighbouring coupl
e for attacking her minor son over a past dispute, resulting in serious injuries to the child. During the probe, one of the accused was slapped by a police officer, which prompted them to approach the SDPO. Pradhan then contacted the complainant and urged her to reach a compromise, which she agreed to, leading to a final report being submitted in court. However, the situation allegedly took a disturbing turn afterward. The officer began making inappropriate calls, sending vulgar WhatsApp messages, and pressuring her to meet him at a hotel.
According to the complaint, he threatened to implicate her and her husband in false cases if she refused to comply with his demands. An audio recording of the alleged conversations later surfaced and went viral on social media, intensifying public outrage and prompting the woman to seek intervention from senior police officials and the Odisha State Commission for Women.
An internal inquiry by Nayagarh SP (in-charge) Vivekananda Sharma had reportedly found evidence against the SDPO. Following which, he was withdrawn from the post and transferred to district police headquarters. It was then expected that he would be suspended soon.