Odisha crime branch registers case over alleged sexual assault of the fiance of an Army officer; ex-CM Naveen Patnaik attacks BJP govt

New Delhi: The Odisha police crime branch has registered a case over the alleged sexual assault of the fiance of an Army officer while the duo were in police custody. The case has been registered against the former police station in-charge of Bharatpur, three sub-inspectors and a constable after the woman alleged that she was assaulted and her fiance (Army officer) taken into custody after they went to register a case.

The incident, which drew strong condemnation by the Army, with senior officers speaking to civilian authorities to take stringent action, has also snowballed into a political controversy. On Friday, former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik demanded a court-monitored SIT probe and a judicial inquiry into the incident. "All have heard of what recently happened to an Army Major and his fiance at a police station here. This is very very shocking news of violence that was meted out to both of them and the alleged sexual assault on the Major's fiance. We demand a full judicial inquiry into this matter and action must be taken very quickly," Patnaik said. He also took potshots at the state BJP leadership over inaction. Last week, the serving Army officer, who is posted in West Bengal had approached the Bharatpur police station with his fiance to lodge a complaint of road rage. The situation took a turn for worse when the two got engaged in an argument with the police personnel over the registration of an FIR into the incident and the Army officer was taken into custody. The woman was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with the police personnel but has since been released on bail by the high court.