Baripada: A 15-year-old girl fainted after a police officer in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district allegedly threatened her with a seven-year jail term if the harassment complaint she wanted to lodge turned out to be false, officials said Sunday.
The Opposition BJD demanded action against the officer, accusing him of subjecting her to mental harassment inside the Morada Police Station Saturday.
The 15-year-old girl is now admitted to a hospital, while an FIR was registered against the man who allegedly proposed to her repeatedly, subjecting her to mental harassment.
The family also lodged a complaint against the inspector in charge (IIC) of Morada Police Station and sought the Mayurbhanj SP’s intervention into the matter.
The IIC was not available for comment.
When the girl, accompanied by her mother, went to the police station, the IIC allegedly asked unrelated questions and further harassed her instead of accepting her complaint.
Later the family members approached Betnoti SDPO Minati Biswal over the phone and requested her to register the FIR.
On the direction of the SDPO, Morada Police Station IIC Sumeet Soran registered the FIR, but allegedly threatened the girl with imprisonment if she made any false complaint.
How did the police know that the complaint was false? The officer was angry after his senior officer intervened. Our daughter was threatened with a seven-year jail term and asked to withdraw the complaint when her statement was being recorded, her mother said.
Soon after leaving the police station, the girl, who had recently passed the class 10 examination, collapsed and lost consciousness. She was taken to a local hospital in an unconscious state and later shifted to the district headquarters hospital in Baripada for further treatment when her condition did not improve, officials said.
The victim’s mother has blamed the IIC for her daughter’s deteriorating health, alleging that the intimidation led to acute mental distress. The family has lodged a formal complaint against the concerned IIC and sought Mayurbhanj SP’s intervention.
Mayurbhanj’s Additional SP Deepak Kumar Gochayat said, A case has been registered against the accused man who allegedly harassed the minor girl under different sections of the BNS and POCSO. The matter is under investigation.
He said the accused man has been detained and is being interrogated.
Asked about the allegation against the Morada police station IIC, the ASP said, We have a CCTV camera at the police station. Senior officers are verifying the allegation made by the girl’s family. If the allegation is found true, action will certainly be taken against the accused police officer.
Meanwhile, a delegation of the opposition BJD led by its Mayurbhanj district president, Sudam Marandi, met the girl and her family members and demanded immediate action against the erring police officer.
The girl became unconscious after being unable to bear the threats of the Officer-in-Charge while seeking justice at Morada Police Station. The officer did not register her complaint and instead spoke harshly, which is condemnable, Marandi said.
The former minister said that while the state government is conducting awareness programmes in police stations for the safety of girls, harassing and threatening her in the name of recording statements without the presence of a woman police officer is a matter requiring investigation.
