Promotion of Odisha lady cop, who forced pregnant woman walk for not wearing helmet, revoked

BHUBANESWAR: The promotion of a woman sub-inspector, who was recently suspended for forcing a pregnant woman to walk 3km for not wearing a helmet in Mayurbhanj district, has been revoked hours after she became an inspector.
Many senior IPS officers were surprised to see Rina Baxala’s name in the list of 134 cops, who were promoted to the rank of inspector from sub-inspector (SI) on Thursday. After the state police headquarters released the list, which was signed by the director general of police Abhay, some senior officers drew the top cop’s attention to Baxala’s alleged misconduct towards the pregnant woman in Mayurbhanj.
Abhay went through the inquiry report and the disciplinary charges against her and immediately issued another order, cancelling her promotion late on Thursday night. “We would have drawn criticism had Baxala’s promotion order not been scrapped immediately. It was an inadvertent clerical gaffe that her name was published in the list of the promoted officers. We are trying to find out how the error occurred,” a senior police officer, who is part of the police establishment board that finalises the promotion and transfer of police officers in the state, said.
Another police officer said Baxala was eligible for promotion, but her file was not scrutinized by the officers concerned in the police establishment board. “She is still under suspension for grave misconduct and dereliction of duty. In such cases, promotional and other benefits are withheld. Perhaps it was an oversight on the part of the police establishment board to give her promotion. The senior offices should also verify if anyone deliberately wanted to promote the errant officer,” the officer said.
It must be noted that Baxala was posted as officer-in-charge of Sarat police station in Mayurbhanj district when she allegedly forced a woman, who was in her advanced stage of pregnancy, to walk for nearly 3km under the scorching heat of the sun in March this year. The pregnant woman’s only fault was that she had not worn a helmet while riding pillion on her husband’s bike. The incident had sparked massive public outcry, leading to the suspension of the Baxala.