New Delhi: A director-general level IPS officer was removed from his position by the Madhya Pradesh government Monday after a video of him allegedly assaulting his wife went viral on social media.
In the video, Purushottam Sharma, who was in charge of the Directorate of Public Prosecution, can be seen holding his wife by the neck, pinning her to the ground and even hitting her while two orderlies watched.
Sharma, on his part, did not contest the video but said that he had retaliated in self-defence, after his wife allegedly attacked him with a pair of scissors.
“It’s a family matter. If my own people are giving me pain, let me suffer the pain,’’ Sharma told ThePrint.
When asked about a possible police complaint against him by his wife and son, an Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, the 1986 batch officer said, “It’s their right, I am not coming in way of it.”
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Madhya Pradesh Commission for Women to issue notice
Sharma was relieved of his charge after two videos began circulating on social media Sunday.
In one video, which is 4.47-minute long, the officer can be seen assaulting his wife in his home. A second 7-minute long video shows Sharma at another woman’s house, and his wife can be heard saying “I have caught you red-handed”.
The IPS officer also reportedly said that his wife had accused him of assault earlier in 2008 as well.
“She continued to live with me, travel abroad on my money and use all the facilities,’’ he was quoted as saying.
Sharma added that he was trying to patch up with his wife and son to save the “family honour”.
The Madhya Pradesh Commission for Women has also taken suo moto cognisance of the video.
“The government should act against the officer without waiting for any formal complaint,’’ the commission’s chairperson Shobha Oza told ThePrint, adding that she will be issuing a notice to the IPS officer as well.
Oza also said that she had appealed to the home minister and the government as well, to register a case of domestic violence against him.
State Home Minister Narottam Mishra said the government would act in the matter if a written complaint is filed against the officer.
ThePrint tried reaching Sharma’s wife over call but received no comment till the time of publishing of this report.
Not his first controversy
This is not the first time Sharma has been embroiled in a controversy.
A year ago, Sharma, who was then heading the cyber cell, had accused then director general of Madhya Pradesh Police, the state’s topmost police officer, V.K. Singh of running a defamatory campaign against him.
Singh had issued a notice to Sharma asking him to explain why a flat had been rented in Ghaziabad without the knowledge or permission of the police headquarters.
The notice had been issued after media reports emerged indicating that a flat rented by an IPS officer near Delhi was being used by people involved in what was called a ‘honey trap case’.
The case involved a syndicate allegedly blackmailing top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen using sex clips, chats and audio conversations.
In reply to the notice, Sharma had said that the flat was meant to facilitate the stay of constables and head constables who go to Delhi for raids and searches.
The investigation into the case is still ongoing.
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