Odisha custodial 'sexual assault': Suspended cop to undergo polygraph test
The Crime Branch of the Odisha Police will conduct a polygraph test on Dinakrushna Mishra, the suspended station house officer (SHO) of Bharatpur. Mishra was suspended along with five others following allegations that they tortured an army officer and sexually assaulted his fiancee at the police station on September 19. According to OdishaTV, the Bhubaneswar SDJM court has granted permission to conduct the polygraph test.
Victim's account of the alleged assault
The woman claimed that they had gone to Bharatpur police station on September 19 to file a complaint against a group of people who tried to pick a fight with them. She alleged that the police took offense when she insisted that it was their duty to register her complaint even at odd hours, given her status as a lawyer. This led to an escalation where her husband was detained and she was sexually assaulted, she claimed.
Victim recalls harrowing ordeal at police station
In an interview with India Today TV, the woman recalled being beaten, choked and pulled by her hair during the ordeal at the station. "My tooth fell off and was flung out by a female officer. My bra was pulled up, my pants were lowered, and my bare chest was stamped and pumped for 20 minutes by the male officer," she alleged. Last week, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi ordered a judicial inquiry into the case.
Odisha government sanctions security for victim
Additionally, the Odisha government has sanctioned the deployment of personal security officers (PSOs) to provide security to the Army officer and his fiancee. This decision was made after the victim, along with her father and some former army men, met CM Majhi at the state secretariat on Tuesday. The woman expressed concerns about potential threats from police due to this case but also expressed hope for justice from a judicial probe ordered by the state government.
