Days after a molestation complaint against Binod Kumar Singh, senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh (UP) cadre who was serving as the Additional Director General (ADG) of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) prematurely repatriated him with “immediate effect”.
According to the Ministry’s communication, the step has been taken by the competent authority to “prematurely repatriate him to his parent cadre”. The officer belongs to the 1994 batch and got central deputation in June 2023.
In another case, a constable had lost his job after he was found guilty in a sexual harassment complaint against him. The constable has been dismissed from the service. The constable had held victim’s hand, said ‘I love you’ and hugged the woman.
Meanwhile, in Singh’s case, an officer from the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport in Assam had on March 17 submitted the complaint against Singh to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). Preliminary inquiry had found “an element of molestation”, but as the complainant was not interested to continue with the matter, no First Information Report (FIR) was registered.
THE COMPLAINT
In the complaint, the Guwahati airport officer stated that he had received a letter with a request to provide service at the airport for Singh and accordingly he was provided with the facility. “The complainant alleged that next day, he received a complaint from a woman employee who was on duty at the Reserved Lounge at the time of the alleged incident,” the report said.
The woman alleged that the senior officer kept gazing at her and made her feel uncomfortable. Also, he insisted that the woman take his contact number, so he can help her in case of any problem in the future. “Despite my ‘no’, he entered the desk area, held my arms, pulled me towards him and tried to hug forcefully. I had to pull myself away from him and asked him to immediately stop his unacceptable behaviour,” the inquiry report stated, quoting the woman.
THE INQUIRY
During the inquiry, the officer took statements of the complainant and those who witnessed the incident.
The officer said Singh made the woman uncomfortable. “In her attempt to escape, she stumbled upon a dustbin kept near the desk. Seeing her reaction, Singh tried to console her, saying that hugging is quite normal and moved a few steps away from the help desk,” the report stated.
“In view of the above facts and circumstances that have come during my preliminary inquiry, it may be stated that from the statement of (details withheld) at IGBI Airport, prima facie, there is an element of molestation in her allegation. However, she has also stated that she is not interested to continue with the matter,” the report said.
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