Odisha orders judicial inquiry into torture and sexual assault of soldier and his fiancée at police station; five policemen suspended

Odisha state Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has ordered a judicial inquiry into the reported torture of an army officer and “sexual assault” of his fiancée at a police station.

The Odisha state government has set up a commission headed by Chittaranjan Dash, a retired Supreme Court judge, to investigate the incident, ANI reported.

The commission will investigate the chronology of the incidents and the role of the authorities, it said.

“The commission will suggest measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future and ensure safety of women,” ANI reported, citing the government statement.

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 critical situation… Whatever the incident was, it was not necessary. She asked for help and did not get a proper response from the police station… When the government came to know about it, the chief minister formed a ministerial committee to hear the complaint and discuss it with the victim, her parents and other army veterans,” Law Minister Harichandan told reporters after the meeting.

“We sat with the team and listened to them very patiently… In the evening, we informed the Prime Minister about all this. After that, there was a high-level committee meeting where it was decided that a judicial inquiry should be initiated… Since this is a crime against women for which we have zero tolerance, the Prime Minister has decided to continue the CID investigation and the Supreme Court will monitor the investigation process.”

The government has also asked the Orissa High Court to supervise the investigation being conducted by the Odisha State Criminal Investigation Department and to initiate an independent inquiry.

The government also suspended five policemen from Bharatpur police station.

The reported incident took place on September 15, when an army officer and his fiancée went to Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar to complain about an incident of road rage. The couple were allegedly attacked at the station.

This incident sparked nationwide outrage and led to fierce criticism from the state's opposition parties.