Army officer, fiancée claim torture at Bhubaneswar PS, protests erupt

In an acutely embarrassing incident for the Mohan Majhi-led BJP government in Odisha, a woman and her fiancé, an Army officer, have alleged that they were subjected to the worst kind of torture at a police station in state capital Bhubaneswar.

The woman, daughter of a retired brigadier, told media-persons that she was molested, kicked and dragged through the corridors of Bharatpur police station, which the couple had visited on the night of 15 September to seek help after reportedly being chased by hooligans.

All hell broke loose at the police station after the woman, who runs a restaurant and is also a practising lawyer, demanded police action against the hooligans. Instead of helping the couple, the cops at the police station tied her hands and feet and beat her, she claimed.

She also said she was groped, and the inspector-in-charge of the police station taunted her by exposing his genitals before her. Her fiancé, captain Gurvansh Singh Gosal, who is attached to the Sikh Regiment, was locked in a room despite his protests.

The couple claimed they were waylaid by goons near Pathargadia late at night as they were returning after closing the restaurant. The goons chased their car and sensing danger, the couple sped away and reached Bharatpur PS to seek help from the cops.  

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and sought an action taken report from state director-general of police Y.B. Khurania who, in an apparent bid for damage control, has placed five police personnel, including the inspector-in-charge of the PS, under suspension.

Seven of the hooligans who had chased the couple’s car are also reported to have been arrested. But protests over the incident continue across the state, with ex-Army association members recently staging a protest outside the police commissionerate building in Bhubaneswar, demanding criminal action against the accused police personnel.

Former Odisha chief minister and leader of the opposition Naveen Patnaik lent his support to the couple and demanded a court-monitored SIT (special investigation team) probe and judicial inquiry into the incident. 

“The way an Army captain 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. This has happened to a serving Army officer and a lady within Odisha,” Patnaik said, adding that the state's new BJP government had stopped his government’s initiative called 'Mo Sarkar', which gave citizens an opportunity to vent their grievances before the government.

"The day the BJP government refused to take action against the governor’s son in a serious case of assault, others got emboldened. I still urge for action to be taken by this government against the governor’s son,” Patnaik said, referring to allegations of physical assault by a Raj Bhavan employee against the son of governor Raghubar Das on Rath Yatra day (7 July) in Puri.  

In his first reaction to the incident, Majhi said his government was taking all possible steps to bring the culprits to book, with the crime branch investigating the matter. However, people appear far from satisfied considering the gravity of the allegations against the police personnel involved in the case. 

The fiancée of the army officer, who was released on bail on Wednesday, told media-persons in Bhubaneswar that when she requested the woman constable present at the police station to register her complaint, the latter refused to do so and instead began misbehaving with her, growing more aggressive after being told that the victim was a lawyer.   

Matters worsened for the couple after more cops, including some women, arrived at the PS in a patrolling vehicle. “Two female officers began pulling my hair and beating me. When I pleaded with them to stop, they dragged me through the corridor of the police station. I bit one of them on the hand, and they removed my jacket and tied both my hands with it. They used a scarf to tie both my legs. Later, a male officer came in and repeatedly kicked me in the chest after removing my bra. Then the inspector of the PS came in, unzipped his trousers, showed his genitals and taunted me,” the victim said.

Gosal also gave details of what happened at the PS in a written complaint to the crime branch, alleging that the inspector-in-charge sexually harassed and molested his fiancée, whose screams he could hear for 30 minutes. “Thereafter, my fiancée was illegally arrested and forwarded to court,” he said adding that while he was writing the complaint, four officers held him and dragged him to one of the cells where they removed his pants and took away all his belongings including his wallet, mobile phone, Army identity card and car keys, and he was locked up illegally at 3.00 am.

The victim’s father, who was part of the protest by the ex-Army association, said his daughter’s jaw had been dislocated and she had lost a tooth following the assault by the police personnel. The Indian Army is also reported to have taken cognisance of the case and got in touch with the state police.