A local court had taken up the alleged domestic harassment case after the 26-year-old woman staged a protest claiming her husband was not accepting her as his legally wedded wife.
In two video clips posted online, a 26-year-old woman in Odisha, who was to spend a court-mandated second week with her husband in a bid to save their marriage, has said her husband “fled” even as she kept an eye on him all night. The woman’s tearful revelations, which came a day after the court order, have left many in the state shocked.
On 2nd December the Berhampur court took up the alleged domestic harassment case after Tapaswini Dash staged a dramatic protest, dressed as a bride, in front of her husband’s house for 10 days and nights from November 22. She claimed that her husband, Dr Sumit Kumar Sahu, was unwilling to accept her as his legally wedded wife.
The court, however, ordered the couple to live together for seven days away from their families and in police protection. Dash claims to have married Dr Sahu, a medical doctor employed by the state government, on September 7, 2020, and spent seven months with him as a married couple in a rented accommodation.
On Friday, however, Dash said Dr Sahu fled the guesthouse where the two had spent a week together following the court order. Her lawyer, Pradeep Kumar Behera, said Dr Sahu left the guesthouse at 11 am, and that he would face criminal charges for defying court orders. A lawyer for Dr Sahu, however, gave a different version of the matter later in the evening.
In her video, Dash said, “He (Dr Sumit Kumar Sahu) was trying to flee since yesterday (Thursday), but I did not given him a chance. I stayed awake all night. We even had police protection. But there was none today – only one police sub-inspector and two woman constables. He fled in their presence.”
Dash and Dr Sahu appeared in court on December 9 after a week of living together at a sugar mill guest house in Aska. Upon reviewing a police report about their relationship over the week, the court recommended that the couple stay together for another week.
“His duty hours at the hospital are from 11 am to 9 pm, but yesterday (December 9) he did not return home after 9 pm. When I reported this to the Aska police station in-charge, he found out that that he (Dr Sahu) had night duty. But he had already asked the driver to come at 7 pm to bring him here,” she said in the video clip.
But when the police officer asked him, he came here in the night. He asked me to leave for my home and that he would pay me money. He said he would not stay with me. I urged him a lot, but he turned a deaf ear,” she said.
To make sure that Dr Sahu, who is posted at Balisira primary health centre near Aska, Dash did not leave the guesthouse. “I was guarding him every moment. But when I was having food, in those two or three minutes, someone came on a two-wheeler and he fled,” she said.
the second video clip, Dash is seen weeping, “My husband has fled. I am unable to do anything. No one is helping me. I urge you to punish the perpetrators and bring me justice.”
A few hours after Dash’s video clips and her lawyer’s statements appeared in the media, Dr Sahu’s lawyer Surendra Behera spoke to journalists and refuted their allegations. “Dr Sumit Kumar Sahu has been contacted. He has taken a rest at Balisira due to some illness on the advice of a doctor. He has also taken leave for five days from work. Since he is a medical officer, there is no question of his fleeing. The matter should not be presented in an exaggerated manner,” he said.
In the second video clip, Dash is seen weeping, “My husband has fled. I am unable to do anything. No one is helping me. I urge you to punish the perpetrators and bring me justice.”
A few hours after Dash’s video clips and her lawyer’s statements appeared in the media, Dr Sahu’s lawyer Surendra Behera spoke to journalists and refuted their allegations. “Dr Sumit Kumar Sahu has been contacted. He has taken a rest at Balisira due to some illness on the advice of a doctor. He has also taken leave for five days from work. Since he is a medical officer, there is no question of his fleeing. The matter should not be presented in an exaggerated manner,” he said.
(Source- News18)
