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Written by Mohamed Thaver
| Mumbai |
Updated: December 11, 2020 1:09:19 am
In March, the GRP headquarters had received an anonymous complaint alleging that Koli and three others made women uncomfortable. A 43-year-old woman officer attached with the Government Railway Police (GRP) was dismissed from the force last month after 16 years of service for holding the collar of her superior officer.
The woman, during an inquiry by the GRP, has stated that the incident took place after the superior officer made an inappropriate remark that outraged her modesty when she asked for leave to visit a gynaecologist.
After being dismissed from the force, the woman approached the police and an FIR was registered against the superior officer — Reserve Sub-Inspector (RSI) Sharad Koli — on December 7. The Pant Nagar police has booked Koli under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to outrage the modesty of a woman) of the IPC. No arrest has been made so far.
In March, the GRP headquarters had received an anonymous complaint alleging that Koli and three others made women uncomfortable.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the woman said that on July 22, she had approached Koli seeking leave to visit a gynaecologist for an ailment. “He, however, made a remark that left me shaken. All night I kept thinking how could he say such a thing to me. I then decided to confront him.”
“The next day, I asked him why he said such a thing to me. He laughed and asked me what I was talking about. This enraged me further and I held his collar. I subsequently lost consciousness and had to be admitted to the hospital by my colleagues,” she added.
After midnight on July 23, she sent a message to GRP Commissioner Ravindra Sengaonkar describing what had happened. Soon after, she was shifted to the control room and an inquiry was ordered. She was subsequently dismissed from service on November 31.
When contacted, Sengaonkar said: “The inquiry established that she had held her superior officer’s collar. It sends a wrong message in a uniformed disciplined force when a subordinate takes such action. Hence, I decided to dismiss her.”
Regarding the comment made by Koli, he said, “There is no evidence of any such comment being made. It appears that she made it up as an afterthought to save herself after having held his collar.”
On the anonymous letter against Koli, Sengaonkar said, “Action cannot be taken on the basis of anonymous letters. They could be concocted.”
When contacted, Koli said, “Allegations against me are false. She got back at me because I did not give her the duty she wanted. People who are unhappy with the duties I assign, send such letters against me.”
The woman said that while Koli made the remark in front of a few women, no was willing to come forward. “Now that they have dismissed me, who will dare to come forward?” she asked.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd