Cops under scanner for misconduct, highhandedness

Bhubaneswar: Grappling with a surge in crimes, Odisha police face an equally troubling challenge stemming from recurring allegations of misconduct and highhandedness within the force.Over the past eight months, multiple officers have been suspended on charges ranging from corruption and abuse of power to custodial torture. Experts believe these disciplinary actions have left the department with a growing trust deficit.Senior lawyer Siddharth Das said suspensions highlight systemic flaws. Das said the public faith in law enforcement erodes because of inspectors like Sandhyarani Jena, who was suspended on Wednesday for alleged brutal assault on a mother-son duo in Talchua police station in Kendrapada district.“She was previously suspended in 2020 in a similar custodial torture case at Patna police station in Keonjhar district, and again in 2024 while serving as IIC of Lakhanpur police station in Jharsuguda district, for shifting bodies of three accident victims from her jurisdiction to another police station limits. Odisha human rights commission had even directed the police in Nov 2020 not to post her in police stations for two years. Yet, she was reinstated multiple times. This shows a disturbing lack of accountability,” Das alleged.Human rights campaigner Prafulla Mohanty said such officers should be dismissed from service. “There are officers who are in the habit of exhibiting brutality on suspects, accused, and even complainants. Senior IPS officers strangely continue to give postings to such officers in police stations. This is not just negligence, it is complicity,” Mohanty said.A retired DGP, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted the department’s credibility is at stake. “Every suspension makes headlines, but the public rarely sees follow-up action. The perception is that officers are shielded by the system. Unless we reform our internal disciplinary mechanisms, the force will continue to lose respect.”A serving senior officer defended the police, saying, “It is unfair to paint the entire force with the same brush. Thousands of officers serve with integrity and dedication. Yes, there are bad apples, but suspensions show that the department is acting tough on the erring ones.”