BHUBANESWAR: A senior police officer of the commissionerate police has landed in controversy for allegedly seeking sexual favours with the help of a sepoy, who is posted at the Odisha special armed police's (OSAP) 7th Battalion in Bhubaneswar.
The sepoy’s wife on Monday lodged a complaint with the commissioner of police Saumendra Priyadarshi against the deputy commissioner of police (armed) Bijay Kumar Sahoo for forcing her husband to supply women to him. She alleged that her husband Nihar Ranjan Nayak was being mentally tortured by Sahoo after he turned down the officer’s demand of sexual favours.
“My husband is looking after the tailoring wing of the 7th Battalion’s family welfare centre. He teaches stitching to the family members of the Battalion’s personnel. But the DCP (armed) has been forcing my husband to send the good-looking girls, who are getting the stitching lessons at the welfare centre, to his home. When my husband refused straightaway, the DCP (armed) has been harassing him and threatening him to frame him in false departmental proceedings,” she told journalists at the office of the commissionerate police.
She alleged that her husband is under stress and attempted suicide by consuming poison a few days ago. “My husband was appointed as a sepoy in July 2012. He has a good track record at the workplace and was appreciated for his dedication by his seniors in the past,” she said.
While Nayak was unavailable for comment, his wife said he did not lodge any complaint against the DCP (armed) with his superiors as he was scared of losing his job.
Sahoo, an Odisha police service (OPS) officer, rubbished the charges against him. “The allegations against me are false and baseless. I am at a loss as to why she levelled the baseless allegations against me. Nayak might have hatched the conspiracy against me to avoid his transfer. He was about to be transferred to another battalion,” Sahoo said.
The commissionerate police started any inquiry against Sahoo. “I have asked the additional commissioner of police Rekha Lohani to verify the woman’s allegations,” CP, Saumendra Priyadarshi said.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)