Odisha Prisons DGP Booked After Former Choudwar Jailor Alleges Sexual Harassment and Intimidation
In a significant development involving Odisha’s prison administration, the Commissionerate Police has registered a criminal case against Odisha Director General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Sushant Kumar Nath, IPS, following allegations of workplace sexual harassment, intimidation, and coercion by former Choudwar Circle Jailor Santoshini Dash.
According to the complaint filed at Choudwar Police Station, authorities registered Choudwar PS Case No. 713 under Sections 75(2) (sexual harassment), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
Inspector Bikash Sethi has been assigned to investigate the matter.
In her complaint, Dash alleged that the incidents began after a prison inspection in 2025 when a person identified as Kuldeep Ratha, purportedly a close associate of the DGP, obtained her personal mobile number and sent messages containing suggestive emojis.
She further alleged that Ratha repeatedly invited her to meet the DGP privately for dinner at establishments in Bhubaneswar, requests she declined, insisting she would interact with her superior only in an official capacity.
Dash claimed that her refusal was followed by a series of punitive administrative actions, including her suspension, withholding of salary and subsistence allowance, and the initiation of multiple departmental proceedings.
She also alleged that during meetings in September 2026, the DGP made remarks suggesting that her situation would have been different had she agreed to meet him privately.
The former jailor further alleged that she was pressured to withdraw an earlier police complaint related to an alleged forgery and record-tampering case involving another prison official.
According to the complaint, she was threatened with dismissal, demotion, and physical harm after refusing to comply.
The complaint also highlights financial hardship faced by Dash and her two minor daughters due to the stoppage of her subsistence allowance.
The allowance was reportedly restored following intervention by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR).
Invoking the Supreme Court’s Lalita Kumari judgment, which mandates FIR registration in cognizable offences, Dash has sought a fair and impartial investigation.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cuttack, has forwarded the complaint to senior government and police authorities for further statutory action.
