Odisha cop suspended for assaulting Keonjhar lawyer

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Keonjhar, Aug 22:

A day after the incident, the Odisha government today placed a police officer under suspension for allegedly assaulting a lawyer in Keonjhar who had gone to register an FIR about a vehicle theft.

“The accused Sub Inspector (SI) has been placed under suspension and the matter would be investigated,” Keonjhar SP Kavita Jalan told the media.

The suspended cop—Trinath Sethi– was posted as SI at the Keonjhar Town Police Station.

As per reports, a lawyer who had gone to the police station to register a complaint of vehicle theft, was allegedly chased down and beaten up by the SI.

It was almost a rerun of the Kendrapara incident in which a lawyer was beaten up and made to do sit ups during the agitation demanding the arrest of self-styled godman Srimad Sarathi Dev in the first week of this month as the SI assaulted the lawyer in Keonjhar yesterday.

The complainant, Daitari Apat, a member of the Keonjhar Bar Association, had gone to the police station to register a complaint of bike theft yesterday evening. While he was narrating the sequence of events leading to the theft of the bike in the presence of SI Trinath Sethi and another staff Uma Patra, Sethi had an altercation with Apat. The cop lost control over his anger and chased the lawyer and allegedly thrashed him.

When the members of the fraternity came to know about the incident, the secretary of the Bar Association Alok Mohanta, along with other members, rushed to the police station. Seeing the men in black and white, the accused cop got infuriated and allegedly abused them too.

Following the incident, the lawyers’ association called an emergency meeting last night and decided to go on a cease work agitation today. Besides, they registered their grievances with the district Superintendent of Police and demanded strict action against the accused cop.