Odisha Govt Prescribes SOP On Behaviour With Army Personnel At Police Stations

Cuttack: After being directed by the Orissa High Court, the state government has prescribed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for police on behaviour with Army personnel at police stations.

The move comes in the wake of alleged assault of an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur Police Station in Bhubaneswar in September, this year.

The Advocate General informed the High Court about the SOP on Tuesday, besides sharing details of the status of the cases involving an Army officer and his fiancée. The next hearing has been scheduled for November 19.

As per the SOP, CCTVs will be installed in all police stations across the state by the end of March, 2025.

Notably, the HC had last month expressed displeasure over the non-functioning of CCTV at 13 police stations in the state.

Hearing a PIL in connection with the Bharatpur police station case, the court had directed the state government to form an SOP for police on their behaviour towards Army personnel at police stations.

It may be noted that an Army officer attached to the 22nd Sikh regiment in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, and his fiancée were allegedly assaulted by police at Bharatpur Police Station on September 15. The couple had visited the police station to lodge a complaint against some miscreants over an incident of road rage.

The Army officer was allegedly beaten up by the on-duty police officials while three female cops dragged his fiancée into a cell of the police station. Some male cops, including the then Inspector In-Charge (IIC) of Bharatpur Police Station allegedly molested her.

Following statewide outrage over the incident, the DGP suspended five police personnel, including the then IIC of Bharatpur police station Dinakrushna Mishra.

The Crime Branch of the state police is currently investigating the case.