Assault on elderly woman by Odisha cop: Accused IIC suspended

Puri: Mrityunjay Swain, former Nimapada police station IIC who had allegedly assaulted an elderly woman inside the police station, has been placed under suspension by Odisha DGP RP Sharma.

Swain was earlier transferred to the Puri district police headquarters and directed to discharge his duty at the headquarters till completion of investigation into the matter.

Puri Additional SP Dhiren Kumar Nanda is currently probing into the incident as per the direction of SP Sarthak Sarangi.

On the other hand, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has asked the IG (Central Range) to furnish a report in this regard within two weeks.

Notably, Basanti Palata, a 74-year-old woman of Dalei Sahi in Dhirapur area here, had lodged a complaint with the SP alleging that IIC Swain had on May 7 summoned her to appear at the police station in connection with an FIR filed by her daughter-in-law alleging torture by her in-laws.

The police official detained her at the police station till 11 pm and allegedly thrashed her with a lathi resulting in injuries, she alleged.

The incident was recorded by an onlooker and the video later went viral on social media after getting posted.

However, the official has refuted the allegations saying that he is ready to face any kind of investigation in this matter.