Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a judicial inquiry to investigate the reported torture of an army officer and the “sexual assault” of his fiancee at a police station.
The Odisha government has appointed a commission, headed by Justice Chittaranjan Dash, a retired high court judge, to probe the incident, ANI reported.
The commission will look into the chronology of incidents and the role of the authorities, it said.
“The commission will suggest measures to be taken to avoid the recurrence of such events in future, and ensuring safety and security of women,” ANI reported, quoting the government notification.
CM Mohan Charan Majhi and Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan met the victim along with her father and Army officers at Lok Seva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar on Monday.
“This is a crucial situation…Whatever incident has happened was not called for. She has asked for help and she has not been given a proper response from the Police station…When it came to the notice of the Government, CM formed a ministerial committee to listen to the grievance, to discuss it with the victim, her parents and other Army veterans,” Law Minister Harichandan said while addressing the reporters after the meeting.
“We sat with the team, we listened to them very patiently…In the evening, we apprised the CM regarding all this. After that, there was a high-level committee meeting, it was decided that a judicial inquiry would be instituted…Since it’s a crime against women, for which we have zero tolerance, CM has decided to let the Crime Branch inquiry continue and the High Court will monitor the investigation process,”
The government has also asked the Orissa High Court to oversee the probe being conducted by the Crime Branch of the Odisha Police, along with an independent enquiry.
The government also suspended five cops of the Bharatpur police station.
The reported incident took place on September 15 when an army officer and his fiancee approached the Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar to complain about a road rage incident. The couple were allegedly assaulted at the station.
This incident sparked statewide outrage and drew a barrage of criticism from the opposition parties in the state.
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