Orissa High Court grants bail to woman lawyer, fiance allegedly tortured at Odisha police station
A woman lawyer and her Army Major fiance were allegedly brutally assaulted by cops at Bharatpur police station in Odisha.
The lawyer and her partner claimed that they were subjected to torture and sexual abuse when they visited the station on September 14 to file a road rage complaint.
While addressing the press on September 19, the lawyer alleged that two female officers began beating her while holding her ears.
"I kept requesting them not to do this. Then they started dragging me through the corridor of the police station and I was trying to fight back. Meanwhile, a lady constable tried to strangle me and I bit her hand. Then they tied my hands behind my back with my jacket and a lady constable tied my legs and locked me in a room," the woman said.
She broke down and recounted,
"Then a male officer came and tore my blouse and started kicking my breasts. Around 6, he came and opened his pants and flashed his penis while I was screaming for help."
A few days after the incident, the Orissa High Court took note of the incident and released the woman on bail.
She was arrested on charges of assaulting the police and vandalising police property. The Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the police station claimed that while on patrol duty around 3:30 AM, she received a call reporting that a young man and woman were causing a disturbance at the police station.
It was alleged that couple used abusive language and assaulted the ASI as well as other police staff. As per the first information report (FIR), the lawyer bit a female officer, causing an injury to her hand.
However, the woman refuted all such allegations against her and informed the High Court that she and her partner were brutally assaulted and that the police had refused to register their complaint. Additionally, it was stated that both individuals were illegally detained in lockup for several hours.
The Court was informed that a co-ordinate bench had directed the transfer of the woman to AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, where she was receiving treatment.
While granting bail to the couple, the Court reportedly warned against the use of standardised rejection slips by magistrates when denying bail.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognisance of the incident on September 17 after the video surfaced on social media.
The Commission has sought urgent disciplinary action in the matter.
In response to the nationwide outrage over the incident, the Odisha Police suspended five officers on September 19, including the Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) of the Bharatpur Police Station.
The suspended officials include IIC Dinakrushna Mishra, Sub-Inspector Baisalini Panda, Assistant Sub-Inspectors Salilamayee Sahoo and Sagarika Rath, as well as Constable Balaram Handa.
Describing the incident as shocking, former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has called for a judicial inquiry into the matter.
"The way an Army Major and a lady were treated in Bharatpur Police Station is shocking and beyond comprehension. The manner in which police have allegedly treated them has shaken the conscience of the country...I demand a court monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into this grave incident against an Army Major and the lady," Patnaik tweeted on his official X handle.
[Read Order]