Warning: This story contains details that may be disturbing to readers!
An incident of alleged 'brutal attack' and 'sexual violence' with an army officer and his fiancee at a police station in the eastern state of Orissa (Odisha) in India is raising questions about police behavior in India.
The details narrated by the victim in this incident are quite shocking.
A major-rank officer in the Indian Army and his fiancee have accused the police that when they came to the Bharatpur police station late on September 14 to file a report of molestation and misbehavior by the boys, 'the police refused to help them. Instead, they were brutally attacked and sexually assaulted the woman.'
"There was only one female officer there and instead of helping her, they abused her," he claimed.
According to the woman, when a police patrolling team reached there, they detained the soldier. When I said that you cannot detain an army officer, it is illegal, two women policemen grabbed my hair and started beating me.
"Then they started dragging me through the corridor and when a lady constable tried to strangle me, I bit her hand," he claimed. After that they tied my hands behind my back with my own scarf. And a lady constable tied my feet and locked me in the room.
Army Lt. Gen. PS Shekhawat has written a letter to the Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court and appealed to take notice of these allegations.
The letter is now doing the rounds on social media, along with a video of the army officer's fiancee, in which she is sharing her condolences, is being widely shared.
On the other hand, the police denied all these allegations and claimed that when the army officer and his fiancee reached the Bharatpur police station on Sunday morning, "both were drunk."
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has announced measures to give strict punishment to the criminals.
"Take off my bra and start kicking me on the chest"
It may be recalled that the state is ruled by the BJP and the Chief Minister's office has said that the government has a 'zero tolerance policy' on violence against women. While Chief Minister Mohan Charan Manjhi said on Friday that "exemplary punishment" will be given in this case.
What the fiancee of the army major spoke to the media is viral on social media.
The victim told the media that she was allegedly tortured and detained by the Bhubaneswar police on September 15.
He was beaten, kicked and dragged through corridors and sexually assaulted by a police inspector while in custody, he said in his charges after being discharged from hospital on Thursday.
She added, crying, that a male police officer then came and "took off my bra and started kicking me with a wire on my breast."
The woman was being treated at the AIIMS Hospital in Bhubaneswar for multiple injuries including a broken jaw.
When they reached the police station, both were drunk: the position of the police
On September 17, Bhubaneswar Deputy Police Commissioner Prateek Singh said that when the army officer and his fiancee reached the Bharatpur police station on Sunday morning, both were intoxicated.
The police commissioner said that they created a ruckus in the police station, misbehaved with the officials there, and when a woman officer tried to stop them, they bit her on the hand. They ransacked the police station and also damaged a computer, so a case was registered against them and they were taken into custody.
The police also claimed that two bottles of liquor were recovered from the officer's car and that both had refused a breathalyser test for alcohol.
On the other hand, the night video of the incident in Bharatpur police station is viral. In one video, an army officer can be seen writing a complaint on a piece of paper while his fiancee is seen standing by his side.
Another video has also surfaced in which the victim is heard saying, 'You can't keep an army officer in a lock-up like this.'
Taking cognizance of the matter, the National Commission for Women has written a letter to Odisha Director General of Police YB Khurania asking him to file an 'action report' within three days.
Whom should the common man expect for help: Rahul Gandhi?
The matter came to light when Army Lt. Gen. PS Shekhawat wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the High Court on September 18, requesting him to take personal notice of the matter.
Ever since the incident came to light, it has been criticized across India.
Leader of the opposition in India, Rahul Gandhi, has strongly criticized the incident, while the former chief minister of the state, Naveen Patnaik, has demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter.
In a post on social media platform X, the Chief Minister's Office wrote: 'Since this incident is highly sensitive,