Assault on elderly woman: Accused cop removed from Nimapara PS

Puri: A day after a 74-year-old woman and her daughter-in-law were allegedly beaten up by the Inspector In-charge (IIC) of Nimapara police station in Puri district, the cop was removed from the police station today. Accused IIC Mrutyunjay Swain has been directed to discharge his duties from Puri Police Headquarters till completion of the investigation.

Puri Additional SP Dhirendra Nanda is heading the investigation into the incident. A few hours after the incident, a delegation of  the District BJP women wing had met the additional SP and demanded action against Swain.

It may be mentioned here that Basanti Palata of Dhirapur Dalai Sahi yesterday had lodged a complaint with the district SP alleging that Swain had detained her for nearly two hours in the police station and later beat her up with a lathi.

Basanti’s daughter-in-law Rita Barik had turned up at the police station alleging torture by her in-laws. Acting on the complaint, the cops had summoned Basanti and her son to the police station for a compromise. However, discussion between both the parties proved futile. Basanti alleged that she and her son were detained at the police station till late night during which the IIC held her responsible for the dispute and started thrashing her with a lathi.

Later, Rita also came up with a complaint alleging that she was beaten up by the same cop. On the other hand, the IIC refuted the allegations levelled by the duo and termed it as false.