Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday suspended two police officials for dereliction of duty in connection with an acid attack on Pramodini Roul in Jagatsinghpur in 2009.
The two officials- DSP RK Jena and inspector Sankarshan Dalai have been placed under suspension while Police DG RP Sharma has been directed to initiate disciplinary action against them.
According to reports, DSP Jena is now posted as SDPO in Nabarangpur while Dalai is posted in Balasore district.
Experts believe that this stringent action against the errant cops is likely to become a symbolic step in Odisha’s mandate to curb atrocities against women and children in the State.
It may be recalled that Pramodini Roul was injured in a brutal acid attack in 2009 and she had to move from pillar to post seeking justice.
Also Read: Justice for Pramodini! Prime accused held after 8 years of acid attack
Official sources said, due to dereliction of duty on the part of the concerned police officials, the case was closed. It was only in August 2017 that the case was reopened and two persons including prime accused Santosh Bedanta, a jawan of the Indian Army were nabbed from Kolkata on November 26.
Earlier, Pramodini had met Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the State Secretariat and had apprised him about the incident.
Expressing concerns over the incident, Patnaik has also directed the DGP to submit a status report on various crimes against women and children pending at various police stations in the state within 15 days.
Apart from this, Patnaik has also asked senior police officials to conduct a review of such cases at regular intervals and warned that stern action would be taken for any negligence.