Neha seeks human rights panel’s intervention

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar, Jan 31:

Neha Garcha, wife of Sukhvinder Singh Barcha, a Sambalpur-based businessman, on Friday sought the intervention of the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) into her complaint against  her husband who has been subjecting his women employees to sexual abuse and what is more, recording his exploits with the help of spy-cams.

She has demanded stringent action against him.

Neha  met the OHRC chairperson on Friday and submitetd a memorandum along with video clippings that prove her allegations.

She was accompanied by social activist Rituparna Mohanty.

In her memorandum Neha has stated that  besides her husband, her father-in-law G S Garcha have been harassing her both physically and mentally for a long time.

Neha has also complained of inaction by the Sambalpur police even after she brought all this to their attention.

She said she had reported the matter to the Sambalpur Mahila police as early as on 29 December seeking action against her husband and father-in-law and even submitted the video clippings of her husband’s immoral behaviour as evidence.

Neha alleged that the Sambalpur Mahila Police refused to file an FIR in the matter and although she had met with the SP on 31 December seeking justice it did not yield any result.

On January 17, Neha along with women’s rights activist Rituparna Mohanty met with the Director General of Police following which the top cop directed the Sambalpur SP and Mahila police to file a proper complaint report and instructed them to arrest her husband and father-in-law, the memorandum said.

“Though police had slapped a case under sections  498 (A), 376, 511, 506, 354 of the IPC, Arms Act and IT Act against the husband and father-in-law on January 18, they are yet to be apprehended ,” Neha said, adding, “Meanwhile her husband Sukhvinder has filed a petition in the  Odisha High Court to quash the FIR”.

The OHRC has directed the SP, Sambalpur to file a detailed report in the case by March 4.

The Commission has further sought explanation on why the police had taken so much time to file her complaint report and also why the accused had not been arrested so far.

On Januray 17, Neha had gone publci against her husband accusing him of molesting his women employees in his office and a lodge and of blackmailing them by using the video footage captured with the hidden video cameras planted by him to record his escapades.