Seeking stern action against the police personnel who allegedly assaulted the fiancée of an Indian Army officer, former Union minister VK Singh faced criticism from M Nageswara Rao, a former IPS officer, who claimed that the Odisha cops were not at fault.
“Sir, it is not done that you, having been a Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and later a Central Minister, jumped to conclusion and castigated Odisha Police for the drunken brawl and uncouth behaviour of an Army officer and his fiancée, and Odisha Police officers were not even at fault,” M Nageswara Rao said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
His reaction followed former India Army chief general (retired) VK Singh’s statement that everyone must listen to the fiancée of the Army officer, the daughter of a retired Indian Army officer, as what happened to her at the Bharatpur police station in Odisha was “shameful and horrendous”.
“Everyone Must listen to (name withheld), Fiancée of Army officer, Daughter of Rtd Army Officer- What happened to her in PS Bharatpur in #Odisha is shameful and horrendous. @CMO_Odisha should take immediate action against the police personnel and all who are trying to shield the criminals in police uniform. #ShameonOdishaPolice,” the former minister wrote on X.
After his post, Nageswara Rao levelled various allegations with a video, authenticity of which has not been independently verified by Hindustan Times.
“In Bhubaneswar city, an Army officer and his fiancée consume 10 pegs of liquor and drive a car in the mid of night around 2 am, indulge in a brawl with engineering students around 2-30 am, and then land up in Bharatpur Police Station creating ruckus inside the police station, so much so that the PS staff had to seek help of PCR. When sent to hospital for medical examination and blood test which is the standard protocol of investigation, they refused,” Rao alleged.
He said the Odisha Police operates over 600 police stations, collectively handling about 2 lakh cases annually and many individuals including women and Army officers visit these stations to report grievances or seek assistance.
“Odisha Police has more than 600 Police Stations and they together register and investigate about 2 lakh cases annually. Lakhs of people visit Police Stations including women and Army officers to report their grievances or seek help. It is not that they misbehave with people visiting police stations,” said Rao in his post.
He said Indian police respects and honours the military as the nation’s last line of defence and it is reasonable to expect reciprocal support from the military.
“Sir, we, the Indian Police, respect and honour our Military because that is the last resort in defending the country from external enemies. A reciprocation from Military towards Police which defends the country from internal enemies, is a normal expectation. Our work is complementary as we together protect the country from within and without,” Rao mentioned.
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“Sir, it is not done that you, having been a Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and later a Central Minister, jumped to conclusion and castigated Odisha Police for the drunken brawl and uncouth behaviour of an Army officer and his fiancée, and Odisha Police officers were not even at fault. But I would not chastise the Indian Army by asking, “Is this the kind of discipline that the Indian Army imparts and inculcates in its officers?”. Because an individual’s aberration does not represent an esteemed institution,” he added.
Rao lastly, in the post, said that the conduct of the Army officer was unacceptable and called for accountability to preserve the integrity of the Indian Army.
Allegations by Indian Army officer’s fiancée
The woman, who runs a restaurant in Bhubaneswar spoke about the incident on September 19 shortly after being discharged from AIIMS Bhubaneswar, where she was treated for multiple injuries, including dislocated jaws.
She had been arrested by the police on charges of assaulting them but was released on bail following an order from the Orissa High Court on September 18.
She recounted that shortly after closing her restaurant around midnight on September 15, she and her fiancé were confronted by a group of people who began to fight with them.
“We somehow managed to escape and went to the Bharatpur Police Station to file a complaint. There was no one present except for a woman police constable at the reception. We asked her to register our complaint as there were several youths in a vehicle who might follow us, and police patrol would be helpful. However, instead of taking my complaint, she misbehaved with me,” she alleged.
