Odisha custodial assault case sparks Army vs police social media spat

NEW DELHI,SEPT 24 : The alleged torture of an Army officer and sexual assault of his fiancée at a police station in Odisha have led to Army veterans and retired police personnel firing off allegations in the case that has triggered nationwide outrage. While Army veterans, including General VK Singh (retired), have called the incident “shameful and horrendous”, retired police officers – while calling for action if cops are found guilty – have also questioned the behaviour of the couple, claiming they were drunk.

The accusations and counter allegations came as videos purportedly showing the couple engaging in a brawl with a group of people went viral on social media.

The woman has alleged that she was thrashed and sexually assaulted at Bharatpur police station, while her Army officer-fiancé was illegally locked up in a cell by the police. The incident happened when the couple went to lodge a complaint over a road rage case. Five police officials were suspended after the case sparked an uproar.

Former Army chief general (retired) and ex-Union Minister VK Singh demanded immediate action against the police personnel and all who are trying to shield “the criminals in police uniform”.

“What happened to the fiancée of an Army officer in Bharatpur police station in Odisha is shameful and horrendous. The Chief Minister should take immediate action against the police personnel and all who are trying to shield the criminals in police uniform,” VK Singh tweeted.

Several veterans have voiced their concerns on social media platforms over how the officer was allegedly mistreated, saying there was “tremendous rage” in the Army.

Urging intervention by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Major Gaurav Arya (retd) tweeted, “Odisha police misbehaved with an Army officer and that in itself is a crime. That they grossly mistreated, humiliated and tortured a lady also… there is no forgiveness for this.”

Major General Harsha Kakar (retd) blasted the Odisha Police for “protecting molesters, bribe takers, crooked police and abusers of women”.

“They are not defending truth. If the Army protests, the nation will come to a standstill. Can this happen to organisations involved in ensuring security. Cheap tactics,” he tweeted.

Meanwhile, former CBI director M Nageswara Rao and the Odisha Retired Police Officers Welfare Association have asked if any action was taken against the Army officer for drink-driving, indulging in a brawl with engineering students, and creating chaos at the police station.

Reacting to VK Singh’s tweet, Nageswara Rao said it was not right to castigate the Odisha Police for the “drunken brawl and uncouth behaviour of an Army officer and his fiancée”. He also alleged that the couple refused to go to the hospital for a medical examination and blood test.

“In Bhubaneswar, an Army officer and his fiancée consume 10 pegs of liquor and drive a car in the mid of night around 2 am, indulge in a brawl with engineering students around 2-30 am, and then land up in Bharatpur Police Station creating ruckus inside the police station, so much so that the staff had to seek help of PCR,” the former CBI chief said.

Emphasising that the police force respects and honours the military, Nageswara Rao urged the Army to take the officer to task for his “conduct unbecoming of a soldier”, and for “besmirching” the name of the Indian Army.

“It is not done that you (VK Singh), having been a Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and later a Central Minister, jumped to conclusion and castigated Odisha Police for the drunken brawl and uncouth behaviour of an Army officer and his fiancée, and Odisha Police officers were not even at fault,” Rao said.

“But I would not chastise the Indian Army by asking, ‘Is this the kind of discipline that the Indian Army imparts and inculcates in its officers?’. Because an individual’s aberration does not represent an esteemed institution,” he tweeted.

The Odisha Retired Police Officers Welfare Association, in an open letter, also made similar allegations while saying that a course on “behaviour in public and public offices for Army officers” should be added.

-PTI