A 32-year-old trainee IPS officer, who was booked on charges of allegedly sexually harassing a fellow woman trainee officer at the National Police Academy (NPA) in Hyderabad, allegedly attempted to die by suicide on Monday, hours after the case was registered against him, a family member said.
The trainee officer had come to stay at a relative’s house in Moti Nagar on Sunday evening. On Monday morning, he was found unconscious and shifted to a private hospital in Sanjeev Reddy Nagar, where he is undergoing treatment.
“My brother was found unconscious this morning, and we immediately shifted him to a private hospital. Doctors told us his condition is stable. We still do not know what exactly he consumed. The blood test reports will provide clarity,” his brother said.
Doctors said he was brought to the hospital around 9.30 am on Monday in an unconscious state.
“The medical team immediately performed gastric lavage on the patient. He is stable,” Ravishankar Reddy, who is supervising his treatment, said.
“We suspected he might have consumed a poisonous substance, as informed by his family members. Blood samples have been collected, and laboratory reports will confirm whether he consumed any toxic substance. His blood pressure, pulse, and other vital parameters are stable. He is expected to regain consciousness within the next 24 hours,” the doctor said.
The doctor said the patient’s brother informed the medical team that an alcohol bottle and a sanitiser bottle were found near the trainee officer’s bed, prompting the family to suspect he had consumed sanitiser before collapsing.
{{/usCountry}}The doctor said the patient’s brother informed the medical team that an alcohol bottle and a sanitiser bottle were found near the trainee officer’s bed, prompting the family to suspect he had consumed sanitiser before collapsing.
{{/usCountry}}The incident came a day after police registered a criminal case against the trainee officer at the Attapur police station based on a complaint filed by a fellow trainee IPS officer alleging sexual harassment.
According to the first information report (FIR), the trainee officer had been harassing the complainant, a 30-year-old married trainee IPS officer from Karnataka, since June 23 by sending abusive messages and making derogatory remarks in front of other trainees. The complaint also alleged that he accused her of being in a relationship with another trainee officer and forced her to show her personal chats.
The FIR further alleged that on July 9, he forcibly took the complainant to her room, grabbed her hair, held a knife to her neck and attempted to strangle her before throwing three condom packets at her. It also alleged that a day earlier, he had tried to grope her and had recorded private videos of her and sent them to her husband.
Police have booked him under sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (sexual harassment), 77 (voyeurism), 78 (stalking), 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with sections 66E (violation of privacy) and 67A (publishing or transmitting material containing a sexually explicit act) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
People familiar with the matter said the academy’s privilege committee, after examining CCTV footage and other evidence, reportedly concluded that the allegations were prima facie substantiated.
Based on the committee’s findings, the academy decided to suspend him and directed that he be sent out of the NPA campus.
“While disciplinary action has been initiated at the institutional level, the final decision regarding his induction into the Indian Police Service rests with the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT),” an official privy to the development said.
Before the alleged suicide attempt, the trainee IPS officer posted a message on his WhatsApp status denying all allegations and media reports against him. He described the accusations as false and said he had complete faith in the legal system, expressing confidence that justice would prevail.
The trainee officer’s brother rejected both the sexual harassment allegations and reports that the NPA had suspended his brother. He asserted that his brother had committed no wrongdoing and claimed the allegations against him were baseless.
“He has not been suspended by the National Police Academy. He came home after availing Extraordinary Leave (EOL). Since returning home, he had been unusually quiet. My brother rose from the rank of a police constable to become an IPS officer after overcoming numerous hardships. The allegations made by the woman trainee IPS officer are completely false,” he alleged.