Tortured by IPS officer’s wife, woman home guard loses legs

Bhubaneswar, Aug 22: A woman home guard of Odisha lost both of her legs under the wheels of a running train in her attempt to die by suicide allegedly after being tortured by a DIG-rank officer’s wife, at whose residence she was working. The picture of the woman home guard with amputated legs sent shock waves across the state with Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) taking suo motu cognizance of the matter and directing the Director General of Police (DGP) to inquire into the matter and submit a report by September 15.
The state government on Tuesday transferred North Central Range DIG, Angul, Brijesh Kumar Rai and posted him at the State Police Headquarters.
In a written complaint to DG Home Guard, Sudhanshu Sarangi on August 13, the victim accused the senior IPS officer’s wife of verbally abusing her and beating her up if she failed to perform her job properly.
Rai, however, rejected the allegations and claimed that the woman home guard, identified as Souridri Sahu of Angul district, was disturbed because of some family issues.
The DG Home Guard said the allegations will be verified.
In her complaint, Sahu alleged that on August 4, she was also dragged out of the house and abused by the officer’s wife as she could not wash some clothes.
Suffering humiliation and torture, the victim claimed in the letter that she decided to die by suicide by jumping before a running train. While she was standing by the side of the railway tracks when a train was approaching on August 4, she fell down due to vibration and lost her two legs. (PTI)