Bhubaneswar:

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Sunday ordered a judicial inquiry into the alleged torture of an Army officer and the sexual assault of his fiancee at a police station here.

The state government is committed to taking strict action against all persons or officials who are found guilty, the chief minister said.

He issued the order for judicial inquiry after a discussion with his deputy chief ministers K V Singh Deo and Pravati Parida, Revenue Minister Suresh Pujari, Law Minister Pritihiviraj Harichandan and senior officers.

According to a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), the judicial inquiry will be presided over by Justice Chittaranjan Das and the report will be filed within 60 days.

The state government also requested the Orissa High Court to supervise the investigation being carried out by the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police.

While emphasising on the rule of the law, Chief Minister Majhi said the state government respects the Indian Army. “The state government is fully concerned about the dignity, safety and rights of women,” the CMO said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the state government has suspended five police personnel of the Bharatpur police station and registered a case against them over the charges of torturing the Army officer and sexually harassing his fiancee.

The state government also maintained the youths who were accused of misbehaving with the Army officer and his fiancee on the road on the night of September 15 were arrested and produced in court.

Earlier, on the instructions of the chief minister, the complainants held a meeting with the two deputy chief ministers, the revenue minister and the law minister at the State Guest House. The woman’s father and other senior serving Army officers were also present, the CMO said.

BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik had demanded a court monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into the incident. The opposition party has also called for a Bhubaneswar bandh on September 24.

The alleged incident took place on September 15 when an army officer posted in West Bengal and his fiancee approached Bharatpur police station to lodge a complaint of road rage in which some local youths allegedly harassed them.

However, a verbal altercation took place between the duo and some policemen following which the officer and his fiancee were allegedly assaulted at the police station. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhubaneswar:

A day after demanding a court-monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into the alleged sexual assault of a woman in custody, Opposition BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday said “women are not safe even inside police stations.” Mr Patnaik made these remarks while addressing party leaders from Kendrapara and Gajapati districts at the BJD’s state headquarters, Sankha Bhavan.

He expressed concern, saying, “It’s sad that women are not safe even inside police stations in Bhubaneswar and government servants are beaten up in Raj Bhavan. It seems there’s no law and order in the state.”

This comment was in reference to the September 15 incident involving the alleged torture of an army officer and the sexual harassment of his fiancée at Bharatpur police station and the physical assault on an on-duty government employee allegedly by the governor’s son earlier.

Mr Patnaik, the Leader of the Opposition in Odisha Assembly, also addressed the BJD Scheduled Caste Cell, urging party leaders to raise awareness about the “false” poll promises made by the BJP concerning the Subhadra Yojana, pension and allowances, and free electricity.

The BJD has consistently claimed that the BJP has failed to fulfill its promises to the electorate. Despite pledging to provide Rs 50,000 to all women in the state within two years, the BJP later denied many women this opportunity, the party claimed. It said that women aged 21 to 60 were selected as beneficiaries of the Subhadra Yojana.

Mr Patnaik instructed party leaders to inform the public about the BJP’s “lies” regarding promises of 300 units of free electricity and a Rs 3,500 old-age pension, emphasising the need to highlight these issues among people.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)