Court asks for case diary in Odisha lady police officer sexual harassment case

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Soro (Baleswar), June 18:

The JFMC court here Tuesday directed the investigating officer of the Odisha Crime Branch police to produce the case diary in the case pertaining to alleged sexual exploitation of a lady police inspector by a fellow male police inspector.

Earlier, on June 10 the Crime Branch had moved the JMFC court here seeking declaration of Jagatsinghpur DCRB inspector Ajit Kumar Swain as an ‘absconder’ and issue of a Non Bailable Warrant (NBW) against him.

Swain is wanted by the Crime Branch for alleged sexual exploitation of a fellow lady police inspector over the last 13 years.

On May 28, the lady police inspector had moved the Odisha High Court seeking a CBI probe into her complaint of sexual exploitation by police inspector Ajit Kumar Swain and immediate legal action against him.

The lady police officer had named the principal secretary Home, DG Police, DG (Crime Branch), DG CBI, IIC, Crime Branch and Jagatsinghpur DCRB inspector Ajit Kumar Swain as respondents in her petition.

In her petition, the lady officer had alleged that she had been sexually exploited over the last 13 years by police inspector Ajit Kumar Swain, who also subjected her to both mental and physical torture. She had also alleged that the higher authorities in the department had taken no action even after she drew their attention to her plight.

The victim had complained before the court that despite an FIR filed by her under sections 354, 354A, 354B, 354D, 376, 376-1, 376-2-A-1-2, 376B, 376K, 376N, 376-C-A-B of the IPC against the accused officer Swain, the authorities were protecting the officer, forcing her to move the High Court to seek redressal.

The lady officer had also said, she had reported the matter to the DGP on May 6, following which he directed the Crime Branch (CB) to investigate the matter. She had complained that the CB had not arrested the accused officer, who is now posted in Jagatsinghpur.

The aggrieved lady officer had said in her petition that she had joined the police service in the year 2000 and was posted as a sub-inspector in Keonjhar district on June 16, 2001. On August 10, 2001, inspector Swain laid a trap and raped her after inviting her to his official quarters. Swain had allegedly videotaped the entire act through a hidden camera planted inside the room.

Later, after mediation and compromise efforts by a senior police officer, Swain had promised to marry her, she had said.

The accused officer never kept his promise and married someone else. Instead, he blackmailed her by showing her a CD of the rape act and continued to exploit her sexually, she had alleged.

The victim in her petition had said the accused officer Swain continued to exploit her even after her marriage in 2004. This led to discord in her marital life and ultimately resulted in the untimely death of her husband under mental agony.

Even now she was being subjected to harassment by Swain, she had alleged in her petition.

After the matter came to light, civil society activists had demanded the immediate arrest of the accused officer pending an inquiry and also action on the errant police officials, who had failed to give the victim the protection and justice which she needed very badly.