Former Congress MP Sushmita Deb has demanded the removal of IPS officer Gaurav Upadhyay, who was charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, as the SP of Chirang district.
Upadhyay, a 2012 batch IPS officer from Uttar Pradesh, has been transferred as SP of Chirang district in western Assam recently.
Deb, who is also the president of All India Mahila Congress, in a letter to Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, expressed her serious concern over the appointment of the police officer as an SP, who has been charge-sheeted under the POCSO act for sexually assaulting a minor girl.
“It is a matter of serious concern that a police officer charged with sexual assault of a minor is given the responsibility of maintaining law and order of a district in Assam. How can a tainted officer invoke the confidence of the people?” Deb mentioned in the letter.
The people of Assam expect and deserve a safe and secure Assam while this action proves otherwise, she said.
“I request you to immediately suspend the appointment order of the said officer and ensure justice through a speedy investigation and trial,” said the former Congress MP.
Upadhyay was posted as Karbi Anglong SP when he allegedly sexually assaulted the girl in December 2019.
According to the charge-sheet, the purported incident took place at Upadhyay’s residence after the victim visited his place to attend a party.
A case was filed against Upadhyay by the victim’s mother at a women’s police station in Guwahati on January 3, 2020, before it was transferred to the CID.
Besides POSCO, Upadhyay has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for assault or criminal force to outrage modesty and sexual harassment.
Now the case is being heard in a court of the Special Judge, POCSO Act, Assam, in the Kamrup Metropolitan district.