BJP working on policy to turn police from protectors to predators: Congress on Odisha incident

New Delhi, Sep 20 (PTI) The Congress slammed the BJP on Friday over the alleged sexual assault of an Army officer’s fiancée in police custody in Odisha, with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleging that wherever the saffron party is in power, it is working on the policy to turn police from “protectors to predators”.

The opposition party also questioned the “silence” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the women MPs of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue.

The Army officer, posted in West Bengal, and his fiancée approached the Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar on Sunday to get a complaint of road rage lodged. During the incident, they were also allegedly harassed by some men. However, the duo got into a quarrel with the personnel at the police station over the registration of an FIR.

The woman, who was arrested for allegedly misbehaving with the police personnel, alleged that she was sexually assaulted after being taken into custody.

In a post in Hindi on her WhatsApp channel, Gandhi said the way police treated an Indian Army captain and his fiancée in Odisha has brought shame to everyone and the entire country is stunned by this incident.

“The Army officer had gone to a police station with his fiancée to seek help against miscreants. Their car was stopped by some anti-social elements. Instead of helping them, police locked them up and the woman was sexually harassed and brutalised in the lock-up,” the Congress general secretary alleged.

“Wherever the BJP is in power, it is working on the policy of turning police from protectors to predators. The audacity to deliver justice on their own is now promoting crime, atrocities and inhumanity. This should stop. Strictest action should be taken in this case,” Gandhi said.

Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, “This is the same Odisha where the BJP government has completed 100 days in power. Narendra Modi spoke about women’s empowerment and safety in Odisha … but this incident occurred.”

“In Odisha, a woman closed her restaurant at night and went out, when she was harassed by some men. She and her fiancé, an Army officer, went to a police station to file a complaint. She has said she was tied up at the police station. After some time, a police officer came in, removed her undergarments and kicked her in the chest,” Shrinate said.

“Under the BJP government, predators are not only on the streets but also within the police force. Women are not safe even at police stations,” she added.

The prime minister remains silent on the incident as do all BJP representatives in states ruled by the party, such as Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Bihar, Shrinate said.

“He (Modi) is busy campaigning (for Assembly polls) and does not have time to address women’s safety issues. No woman MP of the BJP is willing to speak out on this matter. The BJP rightfully protested in West Bengal, but what about the states where it is in power? Who can justify this? Where are women safe?” the Congress leader asked.

The Odisha Police on Wednesday suspended five personnel in connection with the alleged assault on the Army officer and “molestation” of his fiancée at the Bharatpur police station.