Inspector accused of harassment merely told to go on compulsory leave, and that too 4 months after incident; rights activists say victim even wrote to Home Minister RR Patil and district SP, but authorities took no cognizance till they held intense protests
Inspector accused of harassment merely told to go on compulsory leave, and that too 4 months after incident; rights activists say victim even wrote to Home Minister RR Patil and district SP, but authorities took no cognizance till they held intense protests
Human rights activists say the victim had even written a letter of complaint to the Home Minister R R Patil and the then district superintendent of police after the incident occurred four months ago, but notice was not taken of her grievance.
Imaging: Zaki Hasan
It was only after protests by Chandgad taluka human right activists against Police Inspector D D Jadhav for the last one month that the accused was asked to hand over his charge to his subordinate officer.
Additional SP Sanjaysinh Yenpure contacted the office of the Director General of Police seeking permission for the immediate transfer of PI Jadhav.
According to sources, Jadhav had allegedly ordered the woman constable to come to his residence in Police Colony in Chandgad at night. When the constable demanded to know the reason behind his order, the officer had allegedly told her: "Being in the force for long, don't you understand why I am calling you to my residence at night?"
Yenpure ruled out registering an offence against the officer. "Jadhav was insisting that the complainant should be in constant touch with him and had also called her to his residence after working hours and had passed lewd remarks. However, a molestation case cannot be registered in this matter," he said.
Human rights activists said the senior officer's behaviour had so shocked the woman constable that she went on to seek justice from the then Kolhapur SP Yashasvi Yadav and Home Minister R R Patil. But as even after four months no action was taken against the officer, she raised the matter with the State Human Rights Commission.
According to Human Right Protection and Civil Liberty activists from Chandgad, the officer was sent on compulsory leave on Friday after being asked to hand over his charge to a subordinate officer. Advocate Santosh Malvikar, a human rights activist, said, "Since no action was taken even after four months of this incident in spite of the victim having written to Home Minister R R Patil and Yashasvi Yadav, we demanded action against the guilty officer by April 29. When even after that nothing happened, we finally went on a hunger strike and even conducted a jail bharo andolan, demanding action against the officer. As an impact of these protests, action was finally taken against the accused police inspector on Friday."
Human rights activists say the victim had even written a letter of complaint to the Home Minister R R Patil and the then district superintendent of police after the incident occurred four months ago, but notice was not taken of her grievance.
Imaging: Zaki Hasan
It was only after protests by Chandgad taluka human right activists against Police Inspector D D Jadhav for the last one month that the accused was asked to hand over his charge to his subordinate officer.
Additional SP Sanjaysinh Yenpure contacted the office of the Director General of Police seeking permission for the immediate transfer of PI Jadhav.
According to sources, Jadhav had allegedly ordered the woman constable to come to his residence in Police Colony in Chandgad at night. When the constable demanded to know the reason behind his order, the officer had allegedly told her: "Being in the force for long, don't you understand why I am calling you to my residence at night?"
Yenpure ruled out registering an offence against the officer. "Jadhav was insisting that the complainant should be in constant touch with him and had also called her to his residence after working hours and had passed lewd remarks. However, a molestation case cannot be registered in this matter," he said.
Human rights activists said the senior officer's behaviour had so shocked the woman constable that she went on to seek justice from the then Kolhapur SP Yashasvi Yadav and Home Minister R R Patil. But as even after four months no action was taken against the officer, she raised the matter with the State Human Rights Commission.
According to Human Right Protection and Civil Liberty activists from Chandgad, the officer was sent on compulsory leave on Friday after being asked to hand over his charge to a subordinate officer. Advocate Santosh Malvikar, a human rights activist, said, "Since no action was taken even after four months of this incident in spite of the victim having written to Home Minister R R Patil and Yashasvi Yadav, we demanded action against the guilty officer by April 29. When even after that nothing happened, we finally went on a hunger strike and even conducted a jail bharo andolan, demanding action against the officer. As an impact of these protests, action was finally taken against the accused police inspector on Friday."
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