Uttar Pradesh court summons Odisha IPS officer on wife torture charge

BY OUR CORRESPONDENT

Bhubaneswar, May 11: Odisha cadre Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Jai Narayan Pankaj has been served summons by a local court in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a case filed by his wife Meenal Agarwal alleging physical and mental torture.

According to reports, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Court Ghaziabad, has served summons to him on May 8 to appear before it in person by August 5.

The IPS officer is presently posted as Superintendent of Police (SP) of Jagatsinghpur.

The court has issued summons under Sections 498 A and 323 of Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act.

Ms Agarwal had registered a dowry complaint against Pankaj at the Mahila police station here in Bhubaneswar on March 19, 2014, under sections 498A and 323 of the Indian Penal Code.

However, Pankaj had dismissed the allegations as false and baseless and had obtained bail from the court.

Earlier, Agarwal had also lodged a complaint in August 2009 alleging that Pankaj had beaten her up brutally, which had led to a miscarriage. At that time Pankaj was superintendent of police, Nayagarh.

Talking to a local television channel here, Meenal Agarwal, who is currently suffering blood cancer, – said, “Soon after my marriage in 2007, I was tortured and he had been pressurising me to meet the dowry demands. At that time, no departmental action was taken against Pankaj as he had been handling the cases himself.”

Meenal has been living separately from Pankaj for the past three years.

Pankaj said he would depose in the court and present his side. He added he has already moved the court to seek divorce from Meenal and get custody of his only son child.

Meenal had lodged a dowry torture complaint against Pankaj for the first time at the Nayagarh police station in 2009.