Odisha DIG transferred after woman home guard loses legs in suicide attempt
The woman home guard accused the DIG’s wife of mentally and physically torturing her, which forced her to attempt suicide on railway tracks that left her maimed by a speeding train
BHUBANESWAR:
The Odisha government on Tuesday transferred a deputy inspector general of police after a woman home guard working in his household accused his wife of mentally and physically torturing her, which forced her to attempt suicide on railway tracks that left her maimed by a speeding train.
The home department transferred 2009-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Brijesh Rai, DIG in north central region, to state headquarters after the woman home guard, Sairindhri Sahu, complained against Rai’s wife to DG Home Guard. Sahu, a widow, is now undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Cuttack. She lost both her legs after she attempted suicide on railway tracks on August 4, hours after Rai’s wife pushed her out of her home and asked her to go and end her life somewhere.
“Ayushi Rai, the wife of DIG was asking me to do too much physical work, tortured me, beat me up and even threatened me throw me out of the job. I used to wash their clothes and shoes. She didn’t even allow me to take leave. She forced me to massage her body with oil and often kicked me,” Sahu said in her complaint.
“On August 4 morning, she asked me to wash some of her clothes but when I refused to wash due to injury on my toes, she pushed me out calling me worthless. I was under severe mental stress after the incident and went straight to the nearby railway tracks. While I was standing on the tracks, I fell down due to the vibration caused by an approaching train and fell outside the tracks. However, my legs got crushed under the wheel of the train. When I regained my senses, I found myself in a hospital bed,” she said.
The woman lost her husband a few years ago and is now staying with her two daughters.
Rai, however, termed the allegations against his wife as baseless. “She had been upset due to family issues. We have never mistreated her. Someone might have instigated her to go against us. She was going through a lot of anguish in her personal life. She was often distracted while on duty and was worried about her elder daughter. She also had health concerns. She was also grieving her nephew’s death. We had even asked her to opt for some other work if she was unhappy here,” said Rai.
Sahu’s elder daughter Suchismita said her mother used to be under severe mental stress after returning home from the DIG’s residence. “My mother used to be upset due to the torture being inflicted upon her by Rai’s wife,” she said.
Homeguard DG Sudhansu Sarangi said necessary action would be taken in the matter once the home guard is discharged from the hospital. “The government will bear the expenses towards the treatment of the woman. The allegations levelled by her will also be looked into,” he said.
Home guards have been serving as an auxiliary force in Odisha police for decades and are paid as per the total number of days they attend duty. If they remain absent from duty, their per-day duty call-up allowance are deducted from their salary. They do not get any perks and retirement benefits. In April this year, the state government increased the duty call-up allowance of home guards from ₹423 to ₹533, following a judgment of the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, activist Jayanta Das filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanding stern action against the DIG and his wife and a compensation of ₹30 lakh for the home guard. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar said strong action should be taken against the persons involved in this.
