Plaint filed after Odisha HC tells cops to book BJD MLA on ex-girlfriend's sexual harassment plaint

A single bench of Justice SK Panigrahi directed Jagatsinghpur police station IIC to register a case against Tirtol MLA Bijaya Shankar Das if a cognizable offence is made out based on his estranged girlfriend's plaint.

Cuttack: In a major blow to the ruling BJD, a fresh complaint was filed before a police station by former girlfriend of Bijaya Shankar Das, the party MLA from Tirtol, alleging sexual harassment and betrayal. Earlier, the Odisha High Court had passed an order the cops to take action on the complaint on January 27 while hearing a plea from Das's girlfriend.

Recently, the victim has preferred a fresh complaint against the lawmaker with the Jagatsinghpur police station as instructed by the High Court. The petition came up for hearing before Single Bench Justice Justice SK Panigrahi who plea directed that the case should be registered if the cognizable offence is made out.

The woman had moved the High Court, alleging that Jagatsinghpur IIC declined to register a case on the complaint filed on May 13, 2022. In her petition, she charged that no action was taken against the legislator by the concerned Superintendent of Police (SP) and she was turned away without registering the First Investigation Report (FIR).

Justice SK Panigrahi passed orders directing the Inspector in charge to register a case. The order asked the victim to submit a certified copy of the HC order and a fresh complaint to the police official at the concerned police station. The MLA's girlfriend, in her complaint, had accused him of sexual harassment, betrayal and cheating.

She said that Das failed to turn up for marriage registration at the office of the sub-registrar in Cuttack after promising to marry her. She further accused the BJD MLA of running a sex racket and forcing innocent girls to indulge in illegal activities.