Sambalpur: The secretary of a rehabilitation centre in the district, who was arrested on Tuesday on charges of physically assaulting inmates at the centre, has been charged with rape and forcing a woman inmate to abort her child.
IG (northern range) Himanshu Lal on Thursday said Harish Chandra Das, the secretary, will be brought on remand for investigation.
Reports claimed a female inmate had filed a sexual assault case against the secretary. As per the report, she fell asleep after taking pills given by the centre staff and then found herself in an inappropriate state. After four months, she discovered she was pregnant. The secretary forced her to abort the child.
She often objected to the bathing of men and women inmates at one place. The secretary then directed them to completely undress in the group bathing area.
As the visuals, shot by a former employee went viral, it caught the eye of Rengali MLA Sudarshan Haripal who reported the matter to Dhanupali police. Following this a raid was carried out and secretary and a woman caretaker were arrested. Two more people were arrested on Wednesday evening, taking the total to four. Police arrested Harish’s son Subhrajit and an employee at the centre, Subham Behera, on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting the inmates.
In the video they were seen physically assaulting the inmates with water pipes and sticks, besides using abusive language.
Sambalpur sub-collector Puspanjali Panda told TOI, “We have recorded the statement of the woman inmate who had filed a complaint of sexual assault. She will be examined by the medical team. I have submitted the report of enquiry to the district collector. Action will be taken as per his instructions.”
At present there are 41 inmates at the centre, where both men, women and mentally ill prisoners from Circle Jail are staying. As per an RTI information, six inmates had died in 2024 for unknown reasons.
Thabira Mahananda, district social security officer (DSSO), said, “The deaths of inmates at the centre were not reported to us. The centre started in 2019, but it received govt grants in 2023. I have been to the home for mentally ill persons three times and reported the unhygienic condition of the centre to the govt. In Aug, the govt reduced the grant for the centre based on my report.”