Officer accused of sexual torture awarded gallantry medal

Mumbai: Women's groups have condemned the Indian government's decision to award a police gallantry medal to an officer accused of ordering the sexual torture of a tribal school teacher.

"We are deeply shocked and outraged by the conferring of the President's Police Medal for Gallantry on Ankit Garg, Superintendent of Police, Dantewada, Chhatisgarh," said a statement from Women Against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS), a national network of women's organisations and other groups.

"Garg has been named by the Adivasi school teacher, Soni Sori, in several letters to the Supreme Court, of ordering and supervising her torture and sexual violence against her, on the night of October 8, 2011 when she was in his custody at the Dantewada police station."

Garg was one of 97 winners announced by the government on the eve of Republic Day celebrations. He has been honoured for spearheading anti-Naxal operations in the Maoist areas of Dantewada.

Governments accused

The activists have accused the centre and state governments of condoning sexual violence by giving the award despite the complaints.

In a case which is now before the Supreme Court, Sori claims she was stripped before Garg and given electric shocks under his directions. He is also accused of ordering three police personnel to sexually torture her for refusing to name activists such as Swami Agnivish and Medha Patkar as Naxal Supporters.