Mumbai: After a video of the director general of police in charge of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Purushottam Sharma, beating his wife emerged on social media, the Madhya Pradesh government decided to relieve him from his duties. An order, signed by the home department, said that the 1986-batch IPS officer was relieved from all duties with immediate effect. The order, according to the Hindustan Times, does not mention anything about another position.
In the viral video, Sharma is seen dragging his wife, pinning her down to the floor, and pounding on her aggressively. Two other men are seen standing by in the video. Sharma’s wife can be heard asking for help and asks the other two men to call the police.
Sharma’s son has accused him of domestic violence and despite video evidence, Sharma has denied the charges. Sharma’s son has written a letter to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, home minister Narottam Mishra and director general of police Vivek Johari seeking urgent intervention.
Sharma, in a press statement, has claimed that he had not indulged in any violence and justified his violence as a “personal matter” between him and his wife. “I have not indulged in any violence. This is a matter between my wife and myself. She complained against me earlier in 2008 too. We have been married for 32 years. She is living with me and enjoying all the facilities and even travelling abroad on my expenses. The point is if she is upset with me, why she is living with me,” he announced in his defence.
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Even as social media users have been raging over the video, Madhya Pradesh State Women’s Commission chairperson Shobha Oza has stepped in and suo motu filed a case. Oza, talking to the Hindustan Times, has said, “We are going to take suo motu cognisance of the incident based on the video. The state government should take strict action against the IPS officer.”
The MP government has not filed an FIR and claims to be waiting for the family to come forward to register a complaint. Home minister Narottam Mishra, as quoted by the Hindustan Times, has said, “I have come to know about this matter through the media only. If there is any complaint, I will look into this.”