Horror in Odisha: VK Singh and Rahul Gandhi react violently as army officer's fiancée is 'beaten up and humiliated' at a police station | Latest news from India

The government and police of the state of Odisha are facing massive criticism over the alleged misconduct of the police officers towards the couple.

Opposition leaders and several army veterans sharply criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party government over the incident, while Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said his government would take strict action against the perpetrators.

This “heinous incident” is a disgrace for humanity, said Rahul Gandhi, and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra added that the entire country was “shocked” by the events at the Bharatpur police station.

Former Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh called it “shameful and appalling.”

Odisha police open case against 5 policemen

The Odisha Crime Branch has registered a case against five policemen allegedly involved in the attack, including the inspector of Bharatpur police station, who were already suspended after the incident came to light on Wednesday.

“The horrific incident in Odisha has raised serious questions about public order in the country… Under the BJP government, crimes against women have gone completely out of control and rampant,” Rahul Gandhi wrote on X.

Rahul Gandhi wondered where the common man should turn for help when injustice thrives and finds shelter within the system of government itself and demanded the strictest punishment for all the guilty.

Reacting to the incident, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “The entire country is shocked by the brutality and sexual violence of the Odisha police against the fiancée of an army officer who had gone to the police seeking help.”

The Congress general secretary cited Ayodhya in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh as another case.

The Congress leader alleged that BJP governments across the country were working to transform the police “from protector to predator”.

Priyanka Gandhi also claimed that the police's “criminal attitude towards crimes against women actually thrives on the protection it receives from those in power.”

Former Union Minister calls for action

In a post on X, VK Singh, who contested the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a BJP candidate, also urged the Odisha state chief minister to take immediate action against police personnel and anyone trying to protect “the criminals in police uniform”.

He also urged everyone to listen to what the woman concerned, the fiancée of the army officer and daughter of a retired army officer, has to say.

What the army officer’s fiancée claimed

The woman, who was arrested on Thursday for alleged misbehaviour with Odisha Police and released on bail, alleged that she was sexually harassed after her arrest. “I don't know what happened, they put him (the Army officer) in jail. When I loudly stated that they cannot take an Army officer into custody because it is unlawful, two policewomen started physically attacking me,” she claimed on Thursday.

The woman said she tried to fight back and bit a police officer's hand as she tried to restrain her by the neck. The officers then took her into a room and tied her hands and legs, she claimed.

“Shortly afterwards, a male police officer came and stepped on my breasts several times. He pulled down my pants and his own. He showed me his private parts and asked me how long I wanted to remain silent,” the woman said.

Retired army officers react angrily

Several other retired army officers also criticised the Odisha state government in social media posts on the issue.

The woman's father, a retired Brigadier General, demanded the arrest and dismissal of the police officers for taking the law into their own hands, while the National Commission for Women (NCW), which had taken note of the incident on its own initiative, asked the state Attorney General for a report on the action taken.

Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi promises action

Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, who is visiting his home district Keonjhar to mark the 100th anniversary of his government, said his government would not hesitate to take decisive action against the culprits.

Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, head of the Women and Child Development Department (WCD), met the woman at AIIMS Bhubaneswar where she is undergoing treatment.

BJD President and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik condemned the incident as “shocking” and demanded a judicial investigation into the case.

Meanwhile, Odisha Congress MP Sofia Firdous, who met the affected woman at AIIMS Bhubaneswar, also condemned the incident at the Bharatpur police station.

“It is absolutely reprehensible to imprison an army officer and torture his fiancée. As a woman, I can understand her pain very well. My demand to the government is that the guilty be severely punished,” she said.