BJD Calls Off Bhubaneswar Bandh after Odisha Govt Orders Judicial Probe into Assault on Army Officer, Woman in Police Station

Bhubaneswar: Opposition Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Monday called off its plan to hold a six-hour Bhubaneswar bandh on September 24 after the State Government ordered for a judicial probe into the alleged police brutality against an Army officer and his fiancée at Bharatpur police station.

Senior BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra informed that the six-hour Bhubaneswar bandh has been called off as the state government accepted the BJD President and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik’s demand of initiating a judicial probe into this sensitive issue.

As per the reports, the Army officer attached to the 22nd Sikh regiment in Jalpaiguri, West Bengal and his woman friend had gone to the Bharatpur Police Station in Bhubaneswar to lodge a complaint against some miscreants over an incident of road rage during the wee hours of September 15.

An argument ensued between the police and the Army officer and his friend at the police station. The Army officer was allegedly beaten by the on-duty police officials while three policewomen dragged his lady friend into a cell of the police station.

Earlier, strongly condemning the incident, LoP Naveen Patnaik on Friday demanded a judicial inquiry into the heinous act.