Former Army chief Gen VK Singh and CBI ex-director M Nageswara Rao, an Odisha-cadre IPS officer, swiped at each other on social media over the alleged assault of a military captain and his fiancée at Bharatpur police station in Bhubaneswar on Sept 15.
Gen Singh, who’s also a former Union minister, shared on X a video from Sept 20 in which the woman recounted her traumatic experience. Describing the case as “shameful and horrendous”, he wrote: “The chief minister should take immediate action against the police personnel and all who are trying to shield the criminals in police uniform.” He hashtagged his post as #ShameOnOdishaPolice.
Rao stepped in to defend state police. He suggested the couple was at fault, saying they were drunk and involved in a brawl with engineering students before going to the police station.
When they were sent to the hospital for medical examination and blood tests, which is the standard protocol of investigation, they refused,” CBI ex-director M Nageswara Rao wrote. “Sir, we, the Indian Police, respect and honour our military because that is the last resort in defending the country from external enemies. A reciprocation from the military towards police, which defends the country from internal enemies, is a normal expectation.”
Rao further criticised Gen Singh for his comments: “Sir, it is not done that you, having been a Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and later a Central minister, jumped to conclusions and castigated Odisha Police for the drunken brawl and uncouth behaviour of an Army officer and his fiancée, and Odisha Police officers were not even at fault.”
