ASSEMBLY POLL '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS '98
ARCHIVES

Orissa cops upset with Anjana Mishra

Bibhuti Mishra in Bhubaneshwar

The Orissa police have fallen out with Anjana Mishra who was allegedly gang-raped on January 9.

A memorandum submitted by the Association of Police Havildars, Constables and Sepoys demanded a magistrate be appointed to supervise the work of security officers protecting Anjana Mishra. It also demanded that both Anjana and her journalist friend Sutanu Guru be arrested on the basis of a first information report lodged by the ASI in charge of Anjana Mishra's security.

The police alleged that Anjana and Guru allegedly misbehaved with Sub-Inspector Laxmi Behera and pushed him.

"When Sutanu Guru came to Anjana's house we asked him to enter his name in the register; he got angry and abused us. Anjana came onto the balcony and joined him in running us down. Thereafter, she came down and both of them pushed me and scolded me. I filed an FIR against them around 1315 hours. They separately filed FIRs against me around 2100 hours alleging I misbehaved."

Anjana Mishra and Sutanu Guru, however, claim the police pushed the journalist around and prevented him from going in. When Mishra came down, she too was manhandled, she says.

Padmanava Behera, president of the Police Employees Association, says, "Right from the beginning of this case, she has been misbehaving with the police and slapping false allegations on them." He says she was extremely aggressive even with officers as senior as the superintendent of police. ''The lower cadres got worse treatment.''

In a memorandum to the director general of police, the policemen have stated that, unless remedial measures were taken, none of them were willing to handle Mishra's security. They are also sore that, after the gang-rape, a lady sub-inspector and a havildar connected with Mishra's security have been suspended even though there was no lapse in their duty.

"Anjana is lying about the police in her political game. The policemen can't stand being persecuted," says an additional SP.

Tell us what you think of this report