Odisha CM Mohan Majhi Assures ‘Stern Action’ in Police Assault on Army Major and His Fiancée Case

Bhubaneswar: As the opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and Congress mounted on Friday attack on the Odisha government on the alleged assault of an Indian Army officer of the Sikh Regiment, Major Gurvansh Singh and “sexual harassment” of his fiancée at Bharatpur Police Station by some cops, the chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi assured “stern action” against the culprits in the case.

While speaking to reporters in Keonjhar, Majhi said the state government had already directed a probe by the Crime Branch and preliminary actions against some errant cops had been taken.

“Our government is very much aware of the incident. The concerned police personnel have been suspended and a first information report (FIR) lodged against them. The state government will take stern actions against the persons who will be found guilty in the case,” said Majhi.

The statements of the Odisha CM came after the opposition parties launched a scathing attack on the government in the morning over the incident, raising questions about the functioning of the police in the state.

While targeting the state government, Leader of Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik said, “This is very shocking news of the violence that was meted out to both and the alleged sexual assault on the Major’s fiancé. We demand a full judicial inquiry into the matter and action must be taken quickly.”

Congress leaders – both in Odisha and in Delhi – played out the bone-chilling video clips of the Major Gurvansh’s fiancée in which she is seen narrating the harrowing physical assault, including sexual assault, she was meted out in Bharatpur police station on the night of September 14. The Army Major and his fiancée visited the place to lodge a police complaint against some anti-socials who stalked and abused them while returning home.

“When we insisted on writing down the FIR and chasing down the culprits who stalked and abused us, the police personnel did not pay any heed and picked up arguments with us. They put Gurvansh in police lockup and when I protested their action saying that they cannot deal with an Army Major this way, the cops got agitated. They tied my hands on my back with my jacket and rolled me down on the floor. The inspector-in-charge of the police station Dinakrushna Mishra tried to disrobe me and repeatedly kicked on my chests,” the victim, a lawyer by profession, is seen as saying on the video.