Odisha court allows polygraph test on suspended cop in Army officer assault case

The cop was suspended over the alleged sexual assault on the fiancée of an Indian Army Captain at Bharatpur police station in the wee hours of September 15

Published on: Sep 25, 2024, 19:58:21 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A court in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar on Wednesday granted permission to the CID conduct a polygraph test on the police inspector who has been suspended over the alleged sexual assault on the fiancée of an Indian Army Captain at Bharatpur police station in the wee hours of September 15.

The Odisha government on Sunday ordered a judicial probe into the allegations of police assault against an army officer and his fiancée. (Representational image)

The court of sub divisional judicial magistrate allowed the CID to conduct polygraph test on Dinakrushna Mishra, who allegedly sexually assaulted the 32-year-old woman when she had gone to the station to lodge a complaint of road rage against a few miscreants.

The Mohan Majhi government on Sunday ordered a probe by a retired high court judge into the woman’s allegations.

The woman, who runs a restaurant in Bhubaneswar, had gone out with her fiancé on the intervening night of September 14 and 15 when they were waylaid by a dozen people who started fighting with them. She alleged that when both of them went to the Bharatpur PS for lodging an FIR against the miscreants while identifying herself as a lawyer, a woman constable on duty got angry and misbehaved with her. After the case was handed over to CID, the Army alleged that the officer was illegally detained while his girlfriend was sexually assaulted before being arrested. The inspector of the police station and four others there have since been suspended.

The CID, which is probing the case, had approached the court for polygraph tests. CID officials said they will soon take the suspended inspector to Gandhinagar in Gujarat for the polygraph test. Mishra has also given consent for lie detection, brain-mapping and narco-analysis tests. The suspended inspector told the court that he was innocent and not involved in the commission of the offences as alleged against him.

CID officials said the polygraph test was important to examine the veracity of the allegations and counter allegations in the alleged torture of the serving Army Officer and alleged sexual assault of his fiancée. The CID, meanwhile, recreated the crime scene at Bharatpur police station and Chandaka road as well where the Army officer and his fiancée were allegedly harassed by miscreants. The woman has already been given a personal security officer (PSO).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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