CHENNAI: Four days after the state government formed a committee to inquire into a sexual harassment complaint against Rajesh Das, special DGP, the CB-CID booked him for of outraging the modesty of a woman IPS officer. The allegation is that the DGP harassed the young officer after asking her to get into his car ‘for a discussion.’ The CB-CID also booked Chengalpet superintendent of police (SP) D Kannan for stopping the officer when she was coming to lodge a complaint against Das. The CB-CID forwarded the FIR to the DGP office on Sunday.
The Tamil Nadu IPS Officers Association expressed solidarity with the survivor-officer, the SHRC took suo motu note of the event and issued notice to the government and opposition parties slammed the government for delaying action against the DGP, after which Das was relieved from his Special DGP (Law&Order) post.
The fact that the survivor-officer was prevented from lodging a formal complaint and stopped by a SP of another district, who blocked her car with special strike force vehicles and made her talk to Das further shocked the force.
Now, on a day when DMK MP Kanimozhi launched an agitation seeking suspension of Das, the government ordered CB-CID probe. Earlier, Kanimozhi had tweeted: “When a woman IPS officer is sexually harassed by a higher-ranked officer and the CM takes no notice of it, what hope do 'ordinary' women have in this regime?”
On his part, Kannan told TOI he merely carried out ínstructions from the DGP and that he was unaware of the reason behind the woman SP going to Chennai. He said he had apologised to the survivor after coming to know she was an SP-rank officer.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)