Odisha Custody Assault Case: Judicial Commission Issues Notification, Invites Affidavits

Bhubaneswar: The Judicial Commission probing the alleged assault of an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar has issued notification and invited affidavits in connection with the case.

Sources said that the Commission of Inquiry has also invited open affidavits from stakeholders, including the complainants, police, and the general public, to gather information and clues about the incident.

Notably, the commission under the chairmanship of Justice (Retd) Chitta Ranjan Dash, a former judge of the Orissa and Calcutta High Courts, had initiated the probe process on Monday.

Work of the Commission is underway in the office set up in the Special Circuit House in Bhubaneswar. The probe panel has now stepped up the process by issuing the necessary notification and inviting affidavits from different parties and those concerned.

The state government had already given the term of reference for the Commission of Inquiry.
As the alleged custody assault episode triggered nationwide outrage, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi a week ago ordered for a judicial probe into the incident by a Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash.

The Commission has been requested to submit its report within 60 days.

In addition, the ongoing Crime Branch probe into the incident is also in progress.

Notably, the army officer and his fiancée had initially approached the Bharatpur police station on September 15 to lodge a complaint of road rage in which they were allegedly harassed by some local youths.

However, a verbal altercation took place between the couple and some police personnel following which the officer and his fiancée were allegedly assaulted at the police station. The woman was also sexually assaulted by police officials.

The woman was allegedly assaulted, molested and flashed inside the police station. In a desperate attempt to defend herself, she allegedly bit one of the officers. She was subsequently arrested for creating fracas and assaulting a woman cop. Meanwhile, the Army officer was thrown into a lockup, making him helpless and unable to intervene.

The woman was granted bail by the Orissa High Court on September 18, following which she held a press briefing and narrated her ordeal.

Besides directing for a Crime Branch probe amid the widespread outrage, the DGP had also suspended five personnel, including the IIC of Bharatpur police station on charges of gross misconduct.

The five suspended police personnel have been taken to Gujarat for conducting their polygraph tests.