SAT confirms the illegality we had exposed: CBI or CI investigation into conduct of the CM and Police Chief must be a Must

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

With nullification of dismissal of the former Inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Pipili PS by the State Administrative Tribunal on January 17, I have no hesitation in saying that the Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik and the Police Chief of Orissa Prakash Mishra had shrewdly collaborated with the Pipili felony of gang rape that ultimately exterminated the victim. Only a CBI or a Commission of Inquiry investigation into why the Director General of Police issued a legally untenable dismissal order to the IIC and why being the Minister-in-charge of Police, the Chief Minister had not objected to that, is now urgent to fix up responsibility as to who of these two top functionaries is guilty to what extent in the Pipili context.

As the DGP dismissed the IIC on January 24, 2012 in stark contravention of the very provision under which the dismissal was ordered, and as Orissa’s political and legal luminaries were conspicuous by their silence on this point, I had to post my views in these pages in public interest, on January 28, 2012, exposing how the dismissal was nothing but official protection given to the IIC with all the scope to get that nullified in appropriate court of law.

The SAT has now nullified the illegal order exactly as I had apprehended.

I had captioned my analysis as “Dismissal of former IIC of Pipili PS is a classic instance of how Naveen is hoodwinking the people”.

I had then written,

“The Director General of Orissa Police has dismissed the former Inspector-In-Charge of Pipili Police Station, Amulya Champatiray, for serious dereliction in duty that has endangered the life of a Dalit girl and ruined her family. The order is being used to hoodwink the people.

The guilt of Champatiray is discernible to naked eyes. So, people are happy over his dismissal. But the dismissal is discernibly farcical, because it is not legal and cannot survive the test of law.

Champatiray had protected the alleged rapists of Pipili by not registering FIR on receipt of the allegation of gang rape and of attempt to murder that has sent the victim into coma.

So, he deserves the severest of punishment and deserves no sympathy.

But, with the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik as the Police (Home) Minister, his dismissal is crafted so cunningly that despite his offenses, he shall get back his service by challenging the order of dismissal in appropriate Court of law; because no Court will allow rape of the Constitution by any Governmental authority”.

The article is available here.

I am thankful to friends, specifically Prasanta Patnaik, to have supported me at that stage. But their views, despite being most relevant, also got ignored.

Now that the apprehension I then had expressed has come true by the verdict of SAT, which is the High Court in the matter of the government employees, it is necessary for the State to abstain from killing further time in untenable preferences to higher forum of law; because no court of law including the Supreme Court can make an illegal order legal.

After my analysis, were he ignorant about the law and really innocent, the Chief Minister, being the head of the political government, should have asked the DGP to withdraw the faulty order of dismissal and to proceed afresh in the matter by subjecting the IIC to domestic inquiry under necessary environment of natural justice and then to determine the dose of consequential punishment. By not doing this, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, whose party colleagues are perceived as culprits, had done his best to help the IIC escape the dragnet of law in the court of law.

It is therefore urgent that instead of raising meritless appeals in higher legal forum(s), the Chief Minister should institute an inquiry against himself and his Police Chief to prove them innocent of the conspiracy in that forum. Having instituted a commission of inquiry against himself, former Chief Minister of Orissa late R. N. Singhdeo had created precedence. Naveen should not shy at this precedence in this matter.

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Orissa DGP may look at Cantonment P.S. to know how his Inspector Works

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Unless the Inspector-in-Charge agrees, no complaint can even enter into the Diary of the Police Station, says the Officer, who had received a complaint on 3 December 2012 in Cuttack’s Cantonment P.S. from Surendra Behera, an employee of ‘The Samaja’, founded by Utkalmani Gopabandhu Das, but allegedly fraudulently occupied by the Servants of the People Society. The IIC has not yet agreed to take cognizance of the complaint. So, despite the complaint legally filed in writing by the workman against a person who subjected him to criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement and another who abetted the crime, the complaint which should have been immediately registered as first information, has been kept out of attention.

The SoPS is in a quagmire of internecine battle between two groups of its members. The genuine fraction is led by its President Onkar Chand with Prof. K.C.Tripathi as acting President and the rival fraction by Manubhai Patel, which, despite brandishing an election in support of its claim to office, has not yet been able to establish the required legitimacy in the eyes of Law.

The IIC is aware of the mischief the Patel fraction is playing. In deciding Criminal Misc. case No. 569/12, U/s 144(2) Cr.P.C. instituted by the IIC of the cantonment P.S. Cuttack, the ADCP-cum-Executive Magistrate had to make mention that “coercive actions taken by the management may accentuate the tension prevailing inside the campus which may lead to wide spread chaos and can lead to risk of life and property”.

On the basis of the report of the IIC, the Court had further expressed apprehension that “highhanded attitude” of the occupiers of the Samaja may provoke stoppage of the paper’s circulation.

So, the IIC of Cantonment P.S. on whose report the Magistrate had taken cognizance of the case mentioned above, is aware of the “highhanded attitude” and “coercive action” of the occupiers of The Samaja who are yet to establish their legitimacy in representing SoPS.

One of such “highhanded” and “coercive action” is transfer and suspension of Devi Prasanna Nayak, President of the Trade Union of the employees of The Samaja.

The workforce could have gone on strike in protest against the illegality resorted to against Sri Nayak and the publication of the paper, as apprehended by the IIC as well as Magistrate, could have stopped.

But Sri Nayak, a totally disciplined, dedicated and well educated journalist, whose love, reverence and devotion to Utkalmani Pandit Gopabandhu Das is absolute, has done his best to ensure that the publication of The Samaja not stop, despite provocations.

Yet, the occupiers of The Samaja are continuing to harass Sri Nayak, because he is not willing to disobey the known authorities of SoPS, President Onkar Chand and acting President Prof. K.C.Tripathi.

They have cooked up a case of disobedience against him and have appointed a man as Inquiry Officer to make out the case against him.

This IO forced Sri Behera in a closed room in the Samaja office on 3 December 2012 to sign on dotted line on a backdated letter and kept him wrongfully confined in the room while requiring him to sign a document he was then preparing. Behera refused to comply with the wrong order and escaped from the confinement and reported to the Cantonment P.S. forthwith, seeking protection, as he was intimidated with threat to his service.

The IIC is refusing to register the information or admit it even into station diary.

This is not a solitary instance. The FIR filed by Sourav Sahu against persons that constitute the Patel fraction is gathering dust in the P.S. since 19 July 2011 despite directions of the Orissa High Court to the Police to inquire into allegations of corruption and misappropriations of the funds of the Samaja and to “proceed with the case in accordance with Law”.

nomenclature 1In the High Court case, the Director General of Police was a member of the Opposite Party. So, he knows that the Police Station had not acted against the practitioners of alleged corruption and misappropriation of funds of The Samaja.

As O.P. No.1, he had got the High Court direction dated 2 May 2011.

nomenclature 2Despite that, when no action was taken against the accused persons, Sri Sahu moved the High Court again, seeking a direction for implementation of the Court’s May 2, 2011 orders.
The DGP was also made the O.P. in this case.

And, on 14 July 2011, the High Court issued orders to immediately implement the earlier order of May 2, 2011.

Being the O.P., the DGP also received the order wherein the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cuttack was directed to ensure that action is taken without delay.

The IIC of Cantonment P.S. was to take action. But he is yet sleeping over the issue.

Is it not time for the DGP to look at the Cantonment P.S. of Cuttack and see whether or not the corrupt occupiers of ‘The Samaja’ have gained over the IIC; and if not, why is he sleeping?

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Police takes Cognizance: Manubhai Patel may be brought to Books for Dirty Deeds

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

India’s famous NGO, the Servants of the People Society (SoPS) is in a quagmire of criminal activities. A gang headed by one of its former presidents – Manubhai Patel – has allegedly grabbed it in violation of its constitution and has resorted to criminal breach of trust, embezzlement and many such felonies.

Known authority of SoPS Prof. K. C. Tripathy has raised the issue in the appropriate judicial forum; but the gang has not yet been able to establish its legitimacy. It is misusing the media power of Orissa’s popular daily The Samaja, which is under its illegal occupation, to browbeat the State officials to the extent of obliteration of records in police stations.

One such instance is missing of Tripathy’s original FIR in the Khuntuni P.S. in the district of Cuttack despite receipts granted against the same. Tripathy had filed the FIR on 12 September 2012 and was sure of action against the serious offenses that he had pointed out with more then 200 pages of supportive documentary evidence. But, the entire bunch of documents along with the FIR was obliterated from the P.S. records.

The OIC, who obliterated the records even after having giving the receipt, has, in the mean time, been transferred, probably with the help of the manipulators, as going away from the P.S. was clearly in his and the gang’s interest.

The new OIC has, therefore, on 17 November 2012, obtained a copy of the FIR from the District Police Office, where it was available, as the complainant had forwarded the same to the Superintendent of Police (S.P.) seeking his intervention in the matter. And, with this copy of the FIR obtained from the S.P. office, the new OIC of Khuntuni P.S. has registered a case under section 420/34 IPC against Manubhai Patel and his gang comprising Niranjan Rath, Pravash Acharya, Bhimsen, Deepak Malviya, Raj Kumar, Ms. R. Sahoo and others.

This particular FIR is lodged on felonies resorted to in the matter of Gopabandhu Institute of Medical Science and Research (GIMSAR) founded in Madhapur of Athgarh and funded by the SoPS from the income of The Samaja.

The FIR alleges that “Niranjan Rath, Manu Bhai and their other associates presented wrong facts to the society (SoPS) about the operation of GIMSAR and dishonestly got money transferred to GIMSAR accounts for operational expenditure and salaries of the doctors and staff. The direct and indirect expenditure during the period mentioned amount to much over 3 crores ……..Major portion of the operational expenses and salaries claimed from the society through the Samaja accounts has been embezzled, siphoned off and fraudulently claimed and withdrawn”. This is a serious offense in view of the informed fact that “Niranjan Rath (had) hired staff and patients only for the days of inspection by the Government of Orissa and Ministry of Health Affairs to present that the Hospital was functioning with the required staff, equipments and facilities. Hired patients, who were paid, were kept in the Hospital to show the Hospital as functional”.

“Against the approved strength of the lecturers, professors, teachers and staff (as required for running a nursing institution and the hospital that being an institute of medical science and research) Niranjan Rath and his committee members namely Ms. R. Sahoo, Peravash Acharya, Bhimsen, and Deepak Malviya claimed money from Society’s Samaja account; whereas, in fact, there were no such lecturers, professors, teachers and staff ever appointed”, the SoPS authority has informed the Police.

Prof. Tripathy has further informed, “Month after month Niranjan also claimed salaries in cash from the Society’s Samaja account in the name of paying salaries to execute the criminal conspiracy with the ex-general manager Hemanta Sahoo, the present g.m. of Samaja Suresh Mantry and other committee members including Ms. R.Sahoo (Principal, GIMSAR), Pravash Acharya, Bhimsen and Deepak Malviya”.

On being informed by Prof. Tripathy and the Chief Executive Officer hemant Goswami of these dirty deeds, President of SoPS Omkar Chand had written to “all members and the trustees of the society for conducting an inquiry against Niranjan Rath. He had instructed the Treasurer to go to the spot and “physically inspect all the works and expenditures of GIMSAR”. But, the treasurer Deepak malviya “never did so”, the FIR has informed.

As the two top authorities of SoPS – Omkar Chand and Tripathy – appeared very disadvantageous to the miscreants, “Niranjan Rath acting with Bhimsen, Deepak Malviya, Raj Kumar, and manu Bhai started an underground design” against the two authorities “to remove them from their way” in order to escape disciplinary action and in “executing their plans”, they together “fabricated, forged and manipulated the Society minutes of April 24 and 25, 2012 and wrongly claimed that a meeting was held on June 27/28, 2012 wherein Hemant Goswami, Omkar chand and Tripathy have been removed and Manu Bhai has been made the President and Niranjan as overall in-charge of Orissa”. And, “thereafter Niranjan acting along with Ms. R. Sahoo, Pravash Acharya, Bhimsen, Deepak Malviya, Raj Kumar and Manu Bhai took forcible control of all documents and material of the society and destroyed many vouchers and other evidence pointing towards the crime. Many important files have been burnt by Bhimsen and Niranjan Rath and they have also removed many incriminating documents from the Chairman’s chamber by breaking its lock”, Prof. Tripathy has alleged in his FIR.

The predecessor of the present OIC of Khuntuni P.S. had obliterated the FIR containing all these and much more allegations. However, the incumbent OIC has taken cognizance of the matter after obtaining a copy of the FIR, as noted supra, from the S.P. office.

But Police conduct on allegations against this gang in another P.S. i.e. Cantonment Police Station of Cuttack City has sort of similarity with the misconduct of the former OIC of Khuntuni P.S.

On July 5, 2012, Prof. Tripathy’s FIR against nine persons: (1) Manubhai Patel (2) Niranjan Rath (3) Bheemsen Yadav (4) Deepak Malviya (5) Raj Kumar (6) Kirti Bhai (7) Khem Chand (8) Suresh Mantry and (9) Priyavrata Mohanty; and others “not known at present” who have conspired, aided and helped in commission of the offense, was taken into cognizance by the Cantonment P.S. for the penal offenses attracting Section(s) 120-B, 403, 409, 416, 418, 420, 424, 427, 452, 465, 468, 469 of the Indian Penal Code and other provisions as applicable (and for which description is also provided in Sections 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 43, 44, 120-A, 405, 415, 441, 463, etc. of I.P.C.).

But the Police, having taken cognizance leading to registration of a case against the alleged miscreants has slept over the issue, even though the miscreants have withdrawn the case they had instituted in Orissa High Court for quashing of the FIR.
Has the Cantonment Police been corrupted by the miscreants like the former OIC of Khuntuni P.S. is a question that needs an answer from the Police Commissioner as it is he who was first addressed in the FIR filed by the known authority of SoPS.

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DGP is Apprised of Police inaction over allegations of serious crimes against SoPS

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Conveners of ‘Save The Samaja Forum’, Prasanta Patnaik and Subhas Chandra Pattanayak have attracted attention of the Director General of Police Sri Prakash Mishra, while meeting him in his Bhubaneswar camp on September 28, to the mysterious inaction of the police over serious allegations of forgery and misappropriation raised by officiating President of the Servants of the People Society (SoPS) Sri K. C. Tripathy against a pack of miscreants acting in the name of the Society.

After ORISSA MATTERS exposed how the Will purported to be of Gopabandhu Das on the basis of which SoPS has occupied The Samaja, as claimed by the same paper, is a fraudulently prepared document for illegally occupying the Samaja, the people of Orissa are determined to save The Samaja from the illegal occupiers.

The SoPS, on the other hand, in course of its business, has located misappropriation of several hundreds of crores of rupees from The Samaja revenue by some of its members while serving on its behalf in management of the paper. Serious felonies having been unveiled by the committee of investigation headed by Justice (Rtd) Arijit Pasayat, it was clear to the swindlers that the law’s long hand would certainly reach then one day. Therefore, they have allegedly occupied the SoPS and The Samaja by creation of false election papers, on knowing about which, Sri Tripathy had attracted attention of the police in writing. But the police are sleeping over his allegations as the questioned occupiers of SoPS have engaged a pack of former IAS and IPS officers to work for them.

On being personally apprised of this mischief, the DGP has assured to look into the matter.

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Investigation Needed into Whether or Not the 6th September Violence was Government Induced

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Political climate of Orissa is agog with speculations over investigations into the 6th September violence that Bhubaneswar witnessed in the context of a Congress congregation. In our view, investigation is needed into whether or not the violence was state induced. Let us elaborate.

The Congress had given a ‘Vidhansabha Gherau’ call and its members, supporters and members of the general public whom the call was not inappropriate had joined the ‘Gherau’ program.

It was a political action by the main Opposition in the State against misrule by the Government.

It was very natural for the Government to try to defeat the Congress purpose.

The heavy presence of police with mob controlling preparedness is indicative of how the Government was looking at the congregation, even before its commencement.

To the people in power, against whose misrule the ‘gherau’ call was given, the responders to the call were not political people, but a mob.

So, it must have been a must for the people in power to project the congregation as a mob.

And for this specific purpose, they must have pressed their trusted men to mingle with the Congress supporters to act as agent provocateurs in the congregation in order to justify use of State-terror against the protesters to shatter the congregation. This is indicated by the brickbats that eventually occurred.

The police, with x-raying eyes kept open, was so very overwhelmingly present on every road, on every lane and sub-lane to the place of the congregation that without help of the police or unless the police had deliberately closed its eyes to ruling party hoodlums entering into the area well equipped with bricks and stones to create the disorder, these arsenals could never have reached the spot. With every photo journalist focussed on the place of the congregation, miscreants entering into the area with throwable objects must certainly have escaped the lenses.

On the other hand, these shenanigans were not catchable by camera. Therefore, the TV cameras missed it and therefore it was not presented in live telecast of this incident. The viewers of TV watched the brickbats, but failed to see who allowed the arsenals enter into the area; because that remained beyond the cameras’ catching capacity.

TV telecasters’ inability to capture the shenanigans does not absolve the government of the crime of misusing police to unleash State-terror on political protesters against its misrule.

But cameras have caught the visible pictures of police action and of protesters’ reaction thereto. We have just kept a few of those pictures on records as a contribution to living history. Nothing personal. No bias.

Our report has shown how the editor of Sambad Soumya Ranjan Patnaik was brutally assaulted by the police when there was no threat to public peace from him and in a place where he was not caught involved with any offense. Was there any reason to beat him in the residential area of a ruling party MLA, if police was not used to cause the chaos?

Police personnel in plain clothes were also seen chasing the protesters, which makes the government side playing the mischief more visible.

Not only ORISSA MATTERS, but also all the newspapers of the State have presented photos of how protesters have been beaten up by the police and like us, they also have shown pictures of how the beaten up people have retorted. Come the Assembly session, the M.G.Road gets choked with barricades made with bamboos in both the sides. The protesters beaten mercilessly by the police, at the end of all the limits of tolerance, seem to have used the same barricades to pull out bamboos to use in self defense.

We very strongly hold, had the Government not viewed the congregation as a mob from the beginning, and had it not deployed so huge packs of police with mob-controlling equipments, and had the agent provocateurs not been helped to play tricks on the congregation, and had the police not closed its eyes to entry of agent provocateurs into the congregation area with arsenals for brickbats, and had the government, instead of barricading the area, allowed the Congress to proceed peacefully with the Gherau, the Congress program could have just been symbolic and M.G. Road would never have seen the acts of violence on September 6.

So, who indulged in violence is not the issue. The issues for investigation should be: why the Government did not allow the Congress to conduct the peaceful “Vidhansabha Gherau” when permission was sought for the same under the police act and by grant of permission, the legitimacy of the Opposition stance was accepted; and why the Police did not stop the arsenals entering into the area of the congress congregation by the agent provocateurs?

Hence, investigation needed into whether or not the 6th September Violence was Government induced.

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THE PIPILI SIN: A SCENE FOR ORISSA TO BE ASHAMED OF ITS GOVERNMENT

Posted on June 25, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

The Pipili gang-rape victim’s cremation gave birth to such a scene that every genuine Oriya should have liked not to have seen.

Orissa has a government that hijacked the Ambulance the victim’s father was using to take her body for funeral at Ghatikia after receiving the same from SCB Medical College, Cuttack; and, arbitrarily halted the cremation for long 51 hours till it totally decomposed.

Perpetrators of the crime being members/supporters of the ruling party, the police was used to suppress the FIR and the medical system was used to make out a case of snake bite in order to protect the criminals. As media exposed the felony, the minister, who represents the Pipili constituency, had tried to intimidate the reporters. This is why the Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) had to intervene. In its attempt to protect the journalists from the ire of the minister, MUFP involved the general public in expression of solidarity with the media persons of Pipili. This eventually gave birth to Orissa Gana Samaja (OGS), where political parties thought it prudent to unite sans their flags in demanding justice for the victim of the gang rape.

The government, then, had no other way than taking the victim to its own care and providing free advanced treatment at SCB Medical College, Cuttack.

Therefore, since the day her charge was taken over by the government, she was, alive or dead, absolutely official. It was the responsibility of the government to treat her dead body officially. The government should have decided where and how to cremate her and in that, only accommodated her family members in witnessing the cremation and performing the rituals. So, instead of handing over the body to her family, the Medical College should have handed it over to the government. Government did not take over the body from the Medical College. As result of this, the father of the child had taken over the corpse for cremation.

It is shocking that, thereafter, when the corpse, as received from the Hospital, was being carried for cremation in an ambulance, the police planted its men in the same Ambulance, who, at Rasulgarh, threw out the family members accompanying the corpse and instead of allowing the Ambulance proceed for Ghatikia as desired by the father of the victim for her cremation in presence of relations present in that village, forced its driver to proceed towards Puri. As hundreds of onlookers at Rasulgarh watched it, they tried to foil the carjack by the police itself; but they were subjected to brutal beating by a police force summoned to the spot. It was incumbent upon the government to cremate the body of the victim with due dignity; but it failed. This shows how irresponsible, incompetent and confused the government is.

The irresponsibility, incompetency and confusion of the government is squarely established by the very fact that the dead body of the Dalit girl could not be given obituary respect in her own village as her family was not allowed by the caste hindus, the collaborators of the rapists and the mafia ruling the roost there to perform her last rites, even in presence of the police and the magistrates and the men who matter in administration.

Nothing can be more shameful for the people of the State than the fact that, the State could not dare to ensure cremation of the victimized child by her family members in terms of its tradition in their own village, because, failure of administration to keep under leash the hounds that tortured her to death, was too alarming for them to perform the last rites in their place of birth.

That, the government failed to have the cremation in the birthplace of Babina, the victim, has established that law is not working in Pipili and administration has no control over the area.

It has become a free land for fellows in or close to power to rape any girl of the locality, to attempt to murder her post-rape, to use police and medical officers to arrange death of the victim in medical environment so that the curpus delicti would be of no active witness utility, to keep the family of the victim under constant alarming intimidation so as to deter it from taking appropriate legal action, to purchase the silence of the victim’s relations through posthumous release of massive amount of money from the state exchequer in the style of the ruling chief minister’s help, to use a section of obliging media and village touts and vested-interest politicians to demoralize the civil-society activists through cultivated insinuations even while managing the prosecution to weaken the case by eliminating/ignoring material evidences.

Every Oriya should feel ashamed of having such a chief minister, such a government, such a network of crime and such a situation.

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Fanatical Face of Pipili: Rape is Our Prerogative; Action Against That is Not Yours

Posted on June 9, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Gana Samaj that stresses on CBI inquiry into Pipili gang-rape, is facing police action, as the local police station – ill-famed for having given protection to the rapists – has entertained a FIR against its leaders, alleging, because of them, the rape having attracted national attention, face of Pipili has been blackened.

Pipili Assembly Constituency is in strong grip of ruling party BJD. No official here is expected to act independent of BJD influence.

Here, in the village Arjungoda, on 29 November 2011, a Dalit girl was found lying like a dead body in a paddy field abandoned by perpetrators of gang-rape who had tried to murder her after raping, as her living was dangerous to them, she being the only eye witness to a 2008 rape-cum-murder they had committed; and, assuming that she was dead, they had left her motionless body to be eaten away by scavengers.

But a villager stumbled upon the poor child in that pathetic condition and notified her family.

The shocked family took her to Pipili Hospital for immediate medical intervention and informed the police. None of them came to her rescue.

The girl was then taken to the Capital Hospital at Bhubaneswar, which not only blatantly neglected her, but also to eliminate the angle of rape, probably under political pressure, tried to make out a case of snake bite.

The girl, due to willful wrong treatment, went from senselessness to coma and her reference even to the SCB Medical College failed to fetch any proper medical attention; as if revival of her sense was not in the agenda of the government doctors.

She was discharged from the medical college without any medico-legal investigation even though her family had apprised the medical officer of the gang-rape and attempted murder.

As she was thus left without medical care, in the lap of slow death, in a condition of no attention from the State as police was not taking cognizance of rape and attempted murder, the local media took up the matter.

Surprisingly, the loudmouth bigwig of BJD, Minister (as he then was) Pradip Maharathi, representing Pipili in the Assembly, till then silent, woke up to intimidate the Press for reports of the rape!

The minister’s such unexpected attack on the media made the watchdog of journalistic interest, the Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) take up the issue and eventually, under its initiative, for the first time in the post-independence history of Orissa, politicians sans their party flags got united with the civil society against the government’s design to suppress this felony, which gave birth to the Orissa Gana Samaj (OGS), with representatives of MUFP – Prasanta Patnaik and Rabi Das – as its joint conveners.

The loudmouth minister had to resign from the cabinet; the Government had to readmit the victim in the medical college afresh and to arrange for her treatment under inspection and instructions from super-specialists and medical scientists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; and other official organs had to get activated. The Home department had to initiate action against the police inspector who had protected the rapists and the alleged rapists were arrested, notwithstanding howsoever farcical that was.

Had the OGS not taken up the matter, the victim could never have got government attention and the possibility of prosecution against the rapists could never even have developed.

So, the ruling party, its loudmouth leader who was forced to resign in the gang-rape context, its local hoodlums to which segment the alleged rapists belong, are acrimoniously angry upon the OGS.

Now as a FIR has been filed against the representatives of OGS by a man who claims that by exposing the gang-rape, they have embarrassed Pipili in the eyes of the nation, one is inclined to accept that there are elements in Pipili to whom raping a woman is not a crime against the land, but exposing the crime is a crime. This throws light on the liking of the party that rules over Orissa, specifically when such a mischievous FIR has been entertained by the police.

Prasanta Patnaik, Convener of OGS, has demanded that the matter in its entirety be handed over to CBI for an in-depth investigation, as the State Police seems to be in habitual nexus with the criminals.

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We Need Such A Law

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

In March, the Additional Sessions Judge holding Fast Track Court No. 2, at Phulbani had acquitted 142 persons arrested by the Brahmunigaon police as their offense allegedly committed in 2007 could not be proved.

So also the Additional Sessions Judge holding Fast Track Court No.1 had acquitted 14 persons arrested in a 2008 case by G Udayagiri Police, as the prosecution could not establish the charges.

In yet another case, the First Track Court No.2 has on April 21 acquitted 7 persons arrested by Tikabali police against alleged offenses committed in 2008, as there were no evidence to prove them guilty.

Is the acquittal enough?

It is time to cogitate this question.

People of Kandhamal district are too simple and ignorant to estimate what damage they have been forced to suffer being accused under-trial.

But when they are adjudged not guilty, because the prosecution had no evidence against them, they deserve to be automatically compensated in cash for the damage they have financially, physically, mentally and socially suffered.

Steps in this regard in appropriate forums are essential.

When the police fails to prove the charges it levels against any citizen, the police officer responsible for loss of his freedom and imposition of under-trial stigma on him, must be punished for misuse of power in arresting the person, for having falsely implicated the person against whom there is no evidence or for suppression of evidence to help the accused escape punishment.

Orissa Assembly Standing Committee on Home Department, in its report to the House in the Budget Session, has come down heavily upon deliberate dereliction of duty marked in the police organization. As non-registration of FIR is an offense which the police is asked not to resort to, institution of false cases against any citizen by the police also must be viewed as an offense.

The acquitted accused must be compensated with appropriate amount of cash to be collected from police officer responsible for his suffering.

We need such a law.

Filed under: actionscript, administration, Animadversion, Editorials, judiciary, law and order, news, orissa, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

OGS Suspects Threat to the Life of Pipili Gang-rape Victim: Demands Immediate Arrest of Ex-Agriculture Minister and Officials Trying to Protect the Culprits; Stands with the Brother of the Victim for CBI Investigation

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Subhas Chandra Pattanayak

Orissa Gana Samaj, initiated by Media Unity for Freedom of Press (MUFP) as the then Agriculture Minister hailing from Pipili had threatened media persons with dire consequences for reporting on Pipili gang-rape, has in a statement, expressed deep anguish over stage managed reports produced by the Crime Branch of Orissa Police shrewdly coined to end the case as clueless and has underlined its suspicion that there is severe threat to life of the rape victim as thereby the most material corpus delicti would be removed for the benefit of the accused persons.

The OGS has demanded that round the clock strongest possible protection be immediately given to the victim improving in coma condition and that, the demand of the brother of the victim for handing over the case to CBI be immediately accepted in order not to derail justice in the agonizing case.

The statement is in Oriya. Please click here to peruse it.

Filed under: actionscript, administration, law and order, Media Unity, news, orissa, politics | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

POLICE IMPLICATES MEDIA PERSONS IN FALSE CASES TO PLEASE BHUSAN STEEL: MUFP

Posted on February 11, 2012 by orissamattersbbsr

Media Unity for freedom of Press (MUFP) is worried over Orissa Police implicating working journalists in false cases to please the management of Bhusan steel Plant at Dhenkanal. The design is aimed at intimidating the Press in order to drive media away from highlighting the unfair labor practices of the industry that affects the workers as well as the harm it causes to living environment of the people.

We place below the MUFP statement:

The attacks on media persons in Odisha is now on the rise. The latest
example of a sinister attack against media professionals by the unholy
nexus between the industrial investors and administration is from Dhenkanal where Bhushan Steel Ltd, infamous for its unethical practices and extremely poor track record in safety standards has filed an FIR naming two committed local journalists for allegedly instigating its striking workers.

Two Dhenkanal-based journalists- Sri Pradeep Senapati of ETV and Sri Jayant Nath of the Sambad – who had been to the Bhushan Steel Plant on 3 February 2012 to cover a demonstration by its workers have been named as co-accused in an FIR filed by Bhushan management stating that they were among those who had instigated the workers to protest against the company.

The local police have already registered a case against them based on the Bhushan FIR and that means their arrest is only a matter of time.The local police is eager to pursue the fabricated FIR because they are hand in gloves with the company and also because they are equally perturbed by the pro-people reports filed by the two reporters in the past.

Bhushan may have reasons for its disappointment over the unwillingness of these reporters to play to their tunes in the last few years. But filing an FIR implicating them in a matter relating to workers’ agitation against the company has transgressed all limits of acceptable behavior.

The MUFP takes strong exception to such unwarranted aggression against
the media by Bhushan Steel Ltd and condemns the heinous attempt by a
private investor to muzzle and terrorise media persons. It also warns the company against any such attempts in future. Bhushan Steel Ltd must immediately delete the names of the two media persons from its false and fabricated FIR failing which the MUFP will be forced to take to agitational means across the state .

The MUFP also warns the state government against any move to protect
Bhushan Steel Ltd and its nasty attack on media persons.

MUFP will hold a protest meeting under the Freedom Tree in Bhubaneswar
at 11 am on Tuesday  (14 February 2012) if the Bhushan Steel Ltd and the state government fail to take remedial steps in the meanwhile.

For MEDIA UNITY FOR FREEDOM OF PRESS (MUFP ),
Prasanta Patnak,
Subhas Chandra Pattanayak,
Sampad Mohapatra,
Rabi Das,
D.N. Singh,
Gopal Mohaptra,
Sudhir Patnaik,
Dwijen Padhi.
Members of MUFP Presidium.

Filed under: actionscript, administration, law and order, media, Media Unity, news, orissa, politics, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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