Additional DGP Purushottam Sharma of Madhya Pradesh tried to defend an act of assaulting his wife on camera | Image Credit: Twitter
NCW President Rekha Sharma wrote to Madhya Pradesh’s Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, demanding strict action against senior police officer Purushottam Sharma, who was recorded beating his wife.
- News18.com
- Last update: September 28, 2020 8:03 PM IST
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In a shocking incident, a Madhya Pradesh police officer was relieved of duty after a video of him assaulting his wife at their home went viral. Madhya Pradesh’s additional general director (ADG), Purushottam Sharma, was recorded hitting his wife at their Bhopal residence.
The dispute reportedly occurred after Sharma’s wife caught him in the act of an extramarital affair. While the video itself was outrageous, the police officer’s brazen response has been causing more anger on social media.
When confronted with the media, Sharma denied all allegations of domestic abuse, saying, “This is a family dispute.”
“We have been married for 32 years, in 2008 he complained about me,” Sharma told ANI. “But the fact is that since 2008 he has lived in my house, enjoys all the facilities and travels abroad on my own.”
He also told reporters that his wife “stalked” and put cameras in his home to monitor him.
Sharma’s justification of violence against his wife and treating her like property has caused outrage on social media.
“This mentality. Exactly this feeling that makes men think that women are ‘their property’ to mistreat them, beat them, do whatever they want,” Shiv Sena spokeswoman Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote on Twitter. “If the guardians of the law speak this language and become violent towards women, what hope in hell will society have. Shameful.”
This mentality. Exactly this feeling that makes men think that women are “their property” in order to mistreat them, beat them, do whatever they want. If the guardians of the law speak this language and become violent towards women, what hope in hell will society have? Shameful. pic.twitter.com/rpAqPKLcKm
– Priyanka Chaturvedi (@ priyankac19) September 28, 2020
Others also reacted to the statement, reminding the officer that women are not the property of their husbands.
What a reprehensible statement from the Additional Director General Purshottam Sharma! Does that give you authority to hit your wife? A disgusting mentality: a woman is NOT an object and you are definitely not her owner. Now he is relieved of his duties. No one is above law and order@TandonRaveena @SwetaSinghAT https://t.co/2kJwiWpbDB
– Farah Khan (@FaraaahKhan) September 28, 2020
Imagine what happens to women who need to file a domestic violence complaint in this man’s jurisdiction. She will ask if they are “enjoying the facilities” of the houses of their abuser https://t.co/9uBXChS1SH
– Faye DSouza (@fayedsouza) September 28, 2020
This man should not be forgiven. Living in my house You have been married for 32 years … it is also your house too. And nothing gives you the right to raise your hand over it. https://t.co/XlqTG3NL3s
– KhushbuSundar ❤️ (@khushsundar) September 28, 2020
Reprehensible statement seeking justification for cruelty and abuse. No one is above the law and their superiors must set an example to the public. Otherwise, what is the message that is being sent to young people? https://t.co/aXcPzbqzBU
– Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) September 28, 2020
For real? Unfortunately, many wives are forced to live in violent marriages due to lack of financial independence and without the support of their parents who believe that marrying a daughter is the end of their ‘responsibility’ https://t.co/KwdsCIJpej
– Bharti Jain (@bhartijainTOI) September 28, 2020
The statement comes even after the Supreme Court in 2018, while decriminalizing adultery, ruled that “women are not the property of their husbands.”
The video stems from an alarming increase in domestic violence cases since the shutdown. According to reports from April itself, the first month of confinement after March 25, the National Commission for Women received 315 complaints of domestic violence. This was the highest since August 2019.
NCW President Rekha Sharma wrote to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Monday demanding strict action against the high-ranking police officer who is seen beating and abusing his wife in an alleged video.
Parth, the son of Purushottam Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of the Income Tax Department, sent the video to Madhya Pradesh’s Interior Minister Narottam Mishra and some high-ranking bureaucrats, and requested that a complaint be filed against his father.
In a letter signed by the Undersecretariat of the Ministry of the Interior of the Public Ministry, Annu Bhalavi, Sharma was asked to reply tomorrow at 5.30 pm with a clarification about the video or have her face suspended.
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