The internal committee constituted under senior IPS officer, Seema Agarwal to inquire into sexual harassment cases has transferred the case relating to a complaint from a female Superintendent of Police (SP) against her superior, an Inspector General of Police, to the Crime Branch-Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID) for registration of a criminal case and further investigation.
Recently, the woman SP in a written complaint alleged that she was subjected to mental and physical sexual harassment by him over a period of time. In the letter, she said she was proceeding on medical leave and sought to initiate criminal action against the Chennai-based Joint Director she reported to.
On receipt of her complaint, the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) was constituted under Ms. Agarwal, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), and other senior officers. The committee had three sittings and heard the complainant’s case. The committee met on August 29, but the complainant did not appear for the inquiry.
“As for the plea of the aggrieved woman officer for forwarding her complaint to the appropriate police authorities, the committee has decided that considering the sensitive nature of the complaint, it would be just and proper to forward the complaint to CB-CID for registration of a criminal case and further investigation,” the committee stated. The representations copies received from the complainant were forwarded for action.
Sources said the task of the committee was not complete with forwarding the present complaint. It will proceed with the inquiry as per the provisions and rules of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
