New Delhi:

Retired Army Chief General VK Singh and former CBI Director M Nageswara Rao have clashed over the alleged torture and sexual assault of an Army officer’s fiancee at a police station in Odisha. The incident took place in Bhubaneswar on the night of September 15 and has sparked widespread outrage.

General VK Singh, in a social media post, described the treatment of the woman, the fiancee of an Army officer, as “shameful and horrendous.” General Singh condemned the handling of the situation by the Odisha Police and demanded immediate action against the officers involved.

“Everyone must listen to the daughter of a retired Army officer. What happened to her in Bharatpur police station in Odisha is shameful. The Odisha Chief Minister should take swift action against the police personnel and those shielding the criminals in uniform,” General Singh stated in his post.

According to the victim’s account, she was allegedly thrashed and sexually assaulted inside Bharatpur police station after she and her fiance attempted to file a complaint regarding a road rage incident. The Army officer was allegedly illegally detained by the police.

In a counter-response, former CBI Director M Nageswara Rao, an Odisha-cadre IPS officer, painted a different picture. Mr Rao disputed General Singh’s allegations and accused the Army officer and his fiancee of being drunk and behaving inappropriately.

“An Army officer and his fiancee consumed alcohol and drove through the city late at night. They were involved in a brawl with engineering students and later created a scene at Bharatpur police station. When asked to undergo a medical examination and blood test, they refused, which is a standard part of the investigation,” Mr Rao claimed. 

He further defended the police, stating that the Odisha Police, which manages more than 600 police stations, had no reason to misbehave with visitors, including Army personnel. Mr Rao urged General Singh to reconsider his stance, adding that it is improper to castigate the police for the actions of an individual Army officer.

“It is not appropriate for a former Chief of Army Staff and Central Minister to jump to conclusions and criticize the police for the alleged drunken misconduct of the Army officer and his fiancee. However, I would not question the Indian Army’s discipline based on one individual’s actions. I urge the Army to take appropriate action against this officer for conduct unbecoming of a soldier,” Mr Rao concluded.

In the midst of these allegations, videos showing the couple in a physical altercation with a group of people surfaced on social media. 
While the Army veterans have rallied around the officer and his fiancee, retired police officers, including Mr Rao, have defended the actions of the Odisha Police and have raised questions about the behaviour of the couple.

Several retired Army officers have taken to social media to criticise the Odisha Police, urging the Defence Ministry to intervene.

The Odisha government has responded by suspending five police personnel involved in the incident and ordering a judicial inquiry. The state’s crime branch is investigating the allegations, and the government has provided security to the Army officer and his fiancee in light of the case.

Following a meeting with Odisha’s Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the woman expressed relief and hope for justice, stating that she feared for her safety given the nature of the allegations. She also confirmed that both she and her fiance had accepted the government’s offer of personal security officers (PSOs) for their protection.

Bhubaneswar:

An Army officer’s friend – arrested last week and released on bail Wednesday on charges of assaulting cops and vandalising police property – has now said she was sexually harassed, and her partner illegally jailed, while trying to file a complaint at a police station near Odisha’s Bhubaneswar.

Five cops, including an Inspector-rank officer, have been suspended pending a disciplinary procedure for “gross misconduct”, Odisha Police HQ said hours after the alleged incident.

The woman has said she sought to file a complaint at the Bharatpur Police Station after she and her friend fought off a group of men who attacked them in public late Sunday night, “when I (she was accompanied by her partner) was going home after closing my restaurant at 1 am”.

However, “when we reached the police station only a woman constable was there, in civil dress”, and she refused to help us, the Army officer’s friend told reporters.

According to the woman, after the constable began verbally abusing her, a few more cops, male officers this time, arrived on the scene and asked her partner for a written statement.

The male policemen then allegedly threw the Army officer into a jail cell.

“I don’t know what happened… they put him in the lock-up. When I raised my voice to say they cannot put an Army officer in custody as it is unlawful, two female officers assaulted me,” she claimed, adding she fought back and bit one of them but was overpowered, tied up with her jacket, and left in a room.

“After some time, a male officer opened the doors and kicked on my breasts several times…” she said, alleging he also dropped his pants and forcibly removed hers.

She also said the Inspector-in-charge of the police station made obscene gestures.

The police, meanwhile, have said the woman and her friend, who is attached to the 22 Sikh Regiment in Kolkata, had attacked an on-duty officer while drunk and also vandalised computers and furniture inside the police station. She was arrested and granted bail by the Odisha High Court this week.

Local media have said a liquor bottle was found inside the Army officer’s car.

However, under the direction of Director-General of Police YB Khurania, a complaint was also filed Thursday at the Chandaka Police Station, which will investigate the woman’s claim of being waylaid and harassed by hooligans while returning home late night on September 15.

The woman received treatment for injuries at the state-run All India Institute of Medical Sciences in the city; videos shared online showed her in a neck brace and with her right arm in a sling, indicating a fracture, crying and talking to reporters.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women has taken suo moto cognisance of this incident and demanded a report from the police. “Urgent disciplinary action is expected…”

Odisha Police’s Crime Branch has been ordered to investigate this case.

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