Odisha Assault Case: Affidavits will be sought, Army officer and other parties to be quizzed, says Judicial Inquiry Commission chairman

After the alleged torture of an army officer and the sexual assault of his fiancée at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar snowballed into a major controversy, the Odisha government on Monday announced a judicial inquiry into the matter.

The Odisha government has appointed Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash (retired) High Court Judge as the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry.

In an exclusive interview to OTV, Justice Dash said that the inquiry will be conducted as per the Commission of Inquiry Act.

“Only after getting the reference letter, the process will start. If there will be open reference, we will frame issue so that each party can get justice. Be it road ragers, Army Officer, his fiancée and police officials, we will hear all of them and seek affidavits. Subsequently, the investigation will start after following the rules of the Commission of Inquiry Act,” said Justice Dash, chairman of the Judicial Inquiry Commission.

According to Justice Dash, the probe is likely to start within a week provided the state government provides necessary infrastructure including office staff and other aspects. Once a framework is prepared, the state government and Commission will appoint counsels. A public notice will be issued and time will be provided to file affidavits so that the investigation should be fair, he said.

“It will be pre-judge to comment on how the investigation will proceed as of now. Only after going through the reference, things will be clear,” said Justice Dash.

When asked if the Twin City Police Commissioner and Bhubaneswar DCP will be brought under the purview of investigation, Justice Dash said that everything would be decided only after going through facts and other aspects of the matter.

Crime Branch Probe To Continue

According to Justice Dash, a Judicial probe is fact fact-finding inquiry to examine who is at fault, how the incident took place, what was its genesis and what recommendations can be given for future reference. The Crime Branch inquiry is completely separate and its process is totally different. The Crime Branch probe seems to be going on simultaneously.

Submitting Report In 60 Days Not A Big Deal

Submitting a report in 60 days is not a big deal, said Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash (retired) High Court Judge as the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry.

“We will have to call for affidavits, and examine them as per Commission of Inquiry Act. If we get the cooperation of all, we can submit the report within the stipulated time,” said Justice Dash.

Viral Videos

On several videos that are going viral on social in connection with the Bharatpur case, Justice Dash said that videos are electronic evidence and can be doctored. “We can say anything about it after starting our inquiry as it is hard to pre-judge anything. Whatever is going viral on social media, people should defame anyone including the lady and others,” said Justice Dash.