Bhubaneswar: The Indian Army major and his betrothed, who were allegedly harassed by a group of youths and then subjected to custodial torture at Bharatpur police station on Sept 15, appeared before the judicial commission to record their statements on Friday.
According to sources, 16 people were summoned to appear before the judicial commission headed by former Justice of Orissa high court Justice Chitta Ranjan Das, which is probing the alleged assault followed by custodial torture of the Army major and his betrothed.
Besides the Army major and his fiancée, the youths involved in the alleged assault and five police personnel, including suspended inspector in-charge Dinakrushna Mishra, were also asked to appear before the commission, but they were represented by their counsels.
Judicial commission secretary Suvendu Mohanty said 16 people, including the Army major, his fiancée, the accused police personnel, and some youths, were asked to appear before the panel on Friday. “We have received over 500 affidavits,” said Mohanty, adding that the next hearing will be held on Nov 30.
The Army major was allegedly assaulted while his fiancée was subjected to sexual and physical assault at Bharatpur police station on Sept 15. The duo visited the police to lodge a complaint of a road rage incident involving some youths.
Police, however, instead of registering the complaint, allegedly assaulted the duo and also lodged a false case against the Army major’s fiancée and put her behind bars. The incident later attracted a major controversy, following which Odisha Police suspended five police personnel of the police station.
The state govt later set up a judicial commission and appointed Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash to investigate the allegations. It has received over 500 affidavits to verify the facts. The Odisha Crime Branch, on the other hand, is also conducting a parallel investigation into the matter.
Crime Branch of Odisha Police also took the five suspended police personnel for a polygraph test to Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The crime branch on Oct 19 informed the judicial commission that the brain mapping and narco-analysis tests of the personnel were completed.