Odisha: 4 police officers and a constable suspended for assaulting Army Major in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar, Sept 18: The Twin City Commissionerate Police on Wednesday suspended five police personnel, including IIC  of Bharatpur police station

Dinakrushna Mishra, for assaulting an Army Major over lodging of an FIR.

They were transferred on Tuesday after the Odisha Crime Branch found them guilty during the preliminary investigation.

The suspended officers are IIC Dinakrushna Mishra, SI Baisalini Panda, ASI Salilamayee Sahoo, ASI Sagarika Rath, and constable Balaram Hansda of Bharatpur police station. 

According to an office order, "A disciplinary proceeding is contemplated against these police personnel for their gross misconduct. During the period the order remains in force, they will remain under the disciplinary control of Commissioner of Police, Bhubaneswar-Cuttack."

 Earlier on Tuesday, the Commissioner of Police had transferred Mishra to the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Bhubaneswar, to ensure a fair investigation. Deepak Kumar Khandayatray was appointed as the new IIC of Bharatpur police station, while Sahoo and Hansda were reassigned to the DCP office and RO, Bhubaneswar, respectively.

 Following instructions from Odisha DGP YB Khurania, a Crime Branch team visited Bharatpur police station, questioned the officers for over four hours, and reviewed case documents on Tuesday.

 The Army officer, stationed in West Bengal, and his fiancée, a local techie, claimed they were assaulted by on-duty officers at Bharatpur police station when they went to file a complaint about a road rage incident early Sunday. They also accused the police of attempting to cover up their actions by issuing a false statement accusing them of assaulting and misbehaving with police staff.

 The Major was allegedly detained in a lockup, and when his fiancée protested, she was reportedly taken to a secluded room by a female officer, where she was assaulted, stripped, and molested. It was further alleged that the IIC threatened to rape her. The Major was manhandled and detained for over 10 hours and was released after the intervention of Army authorities.

 The woman was later arrested for allegedly causing a disturbance at the police station and assaulting a female officer. Her father, who is the president of an ex-servicemen association, claimed the police had fabricated a report from the Capital Hospital to falsely implicate her.