Hyderabad, Jul 22 The Telangana High Court on Wednesday posted to July 27 the hearing on a petition filed by a trainee IPS officer seeking to quash the FIR registered against him for allegedly sexually harassing a woman co-trainee.
The 32-year-old trainee IPS Officer, who was booked on July 18 for "stalking and sexually harassing" a fellow woman trainee at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (SVPNPA) here, on Tuesday approached the High Court seeking to quash the FIR.
After the matter came up before the court on Wednesday, the petitioner's counsel sought a hearing, even as the government's prosecutor sought time to take instructions following which the court posted the matter to July 27.
A 30-year-old woman trainee IPS officer had lodged a complaint with the police, alleging that the trainee officer had been harassing her by sending sexually abusive messages through an instant messaging application since June 23 and making derogatory remarks about her at the academy in the presence of her friends.
She alleged that he falsely accused her of having a sexual relationship with another trainee, pressured her to admit to such a relationship and verbally abused her. She alleged that on July 9, he wrongfully restrained her, forcibly took her to his room, grabbed her by the hair, attempted to strangle her, held a knife to her neck and prevented her from leaving the room.
The complainant accused him of recording a private video of her without her knowledge or consent and sending it to her husband in an attempt to blackmail her.
Based on the complaint, Attapur police registered a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to assault or use of criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, sexual harassment, stalking, and words, gestures or acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, besides provisions of the Information Technology Act, police said.
The accused trainee officer was admitted to a hospital on July 20 by his brother and friends after they found him in an unconscious state at a flat here. They suspected that he might have consumed a harmful substance.
However, a treating doctor had said nothing abnormal was found after a gastric lavage was performed and his condition was stable.
The accused trainee officer had previously served as a constable in the Andhra Pradesh Police.
