New Delhi:
A pregnant woman along with her two sisters was allegedly stripped naked, tortured and brutally thrashed at a police chowki in Assam’s Darrang district. The alleged incident took place on September 10 and only came to light after the women went to a local news channel to narrate the horror. After the news sparked furore in the state, the police sprung into action and suspended the outpost in-charge and another cop. The policemen took the women away to the outpost for interrogation in a case filed against their brother. The man was booked for allegedly kidnapping a girl. According to Press Trust of India, the three women were released only after their brother and the woman he had allegedly kidnapped surrendered at the police outpost.
The women, aged 18, 28 and 30, were picked up by Mangaldoi police outpost in-charge Mahendra Sarma at 1:30 am. The women were stripped naked, beaten with lathis. They said that the policemen ‘touched their private parts’. The women begged to leave their pregnant eldest sister. At this, the cops said that they were ‘acting’. The woman lost her baby due to severer torture.
In her police complaint, the sisters said that, "We were brutally beaten up and the police officer who also touched our private parts. The police officer threatened us by showing his pistol and warned us from filing any complaint against him." No case was registered despite the police complaint on September 10 itself. Finally, a case was registered by police on Tuesday. Darrang district superintendent of police Amrit Bhuyan said that an inquiry has been ordered into the allegations of use of "excess force" by Sarma. The medical examination of the women had been carried out and the report is yet to be received, the SP said. "If the inquiry points to use of excess force, then necessary action will be taken against the police official," he added.
