Odisha: OHRC recommends not to post ‘uncouth’ lady cop in police station for 2 years
BHUBANESWAR: Taking strong note of alleged custodial torture of an accused by a woman inspector during lockdown in March, the Odisha human rights commission (OHRC) has recommended the state government not to give her posting in any police station for the next two years.
The alleged highhandedness of Sandhya Rani Jena, the lady inspector, came to the fore in May after a video of her ‘assaulting’ Chita Ranjan Mohanta, the accused, with a stick inside Patna police station in Keonjhar district on March 25, went viral on social media. Police had arrested Mohanta and two others in connection with a land dispute case. Director general of police Abhay suspended Sandhya Rani on May 23. She is still under suspension.
“The state police is a disciplined force. Action of the former inspector-in-charge of Patna police station is a slur on the reputation of the police. We recommend not to assign her on field duty nor give her posting in any police station for the next two years. She should be trained on how to deal with accused. The state home department may take any other action against her,” said the order passed by OHRC’s chairperson justice Bimal Prasad Das and member Asim Amitabh Dash on November 9.
The commission, quoting the report of Ghatagaon sub-divisional police officer, said the Patna police station’s CCTV cameras were defunct. “This has led to the presumption that she took this opportunity to beat the youth with a stick and kick him in the police station,” the order said. Earlier on May 19, the commission had asked the state government to pay compensation of Rs 10,000 to the victim and recover the money from Sandhya Rani’s salary.
During the hearing, Sandhya Rani had pleaded innocence. “The accused misbehaved with a pregnant constable and shouted at us for arresting him. He ran out of our office room and sat on the floor. We requested him to go inside the hazat (lockup room). Apprehending that he might escape from the police station, I brandished a stick to scare him and asked him to behave politely,” the suspended cop told the commission. She further said her ‘kicks’ to him were accidental.
On November 9, the OHRC had asked the government to recover Rs 5 lakh compensation from the salary of P K Karna, former IIC of Paikamal police station in Bargarh district, for arresting two youths for the alleged murder of a minor, who turned out to be alive.