Assaulted couple seeks CM help against ‘rowdy’ cop

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar, Sep 23:
After the Bhubaneswar SDJM court granted them bail, the couple from Pipili, arrested by the Lingaraj police on the charges of arguing with police on September 18 , have sought the intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in taking punitive action against the Lingaraj police station IIC, Rajendra Kumar Mandal, who they have accused of ‘rowdy’ behaviour.

According to the couple, Sarat Kumar Pradhan (38) and his wife Sadhana Pradhan (28) of Sunapada village under Pipili police station in Puri district, they were subjected to the undue wrath of the police official while they stood in a queue in front of Anant Basudev temple on the occasion of Ananta Brata on September 18.

“Though we were standing in the queue, some outsiders who broke the queue managed to enter the temple ahead of us.I drew the attention of the Lingaraj police station IIC RK Mandal who was present at that time. But instead of disciplining the violators , Mandal misbehaved with us and showered us with abusive language. When we protested, he beat us up and even arrested us,” said Sarat.

However, the SDJM, Bhubaneswar granted bail to the couple the same day.

“Though the court released us on bail observing that the police action was inappropriate, the police have been trying to book us in false cases. That is why we have urged the chief minister to initiate strong action against the IIC i,” said Sarat.

Acting on Sarat’s complaint, the chief minister’s office has directed the commissioner of police to inquire into the matter.

The couple has also submitted a memorandum to the state human rights commission and state women commission in the matter.