A senior Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Surendra Prasad Mohapatra, who is in the US on a training course, has been detained by police in Pennsylvania following a woman staff’s complaint of “sexual assault” at a hotel where he was staying.
The incident is reported to have happened on Tuesday night following which the officer was put under detention by the local police, sources said on Thursday. Mr Mohapatra is the regional chief conservator of forests at Sambalpur in Orissa.
The Indian Consulate in New York has rushed an official for legal assistance and look for bail for the Orissa-cadre officer. According to the Orissa government, Mr Mohapatra was taken into police custody but said it was not exactly aware of the charges against him. The state government said it was in touch with the Centre and the Indian embassy in the US but could not establish contact with Mr Mohapatra.
Mr Mohapatra, who is said to be a 1985-batch IFS officer, was part of a group of 30 Indian officers visiting the US for a mid-career training programme at the Syracuse University in New York.
Environment minister Jayanthi Natrajan has sought a detailed report on the incident, sources said in New Delhi. The sources said the ministry is taking steps to extend all possible legal assistance to the official.
Orissa forest and environment minister Debi Prasad Mishra described the incident as unfortunate. “This is an unfortunate incident. We have received information regarding the police taking Surendra Prasad Mohapatra into custody. The state government has been in touch with the ministry and the Indian embassy,” Mr Mishra said.
Quoting one Bhargava, the Indian course coordinator for the US trip, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) P.N. Padhi said “Mr Mahapatra had a problem with his Internet connection and asked the reception for help. A woman came to his room but was unable to fix it and so left.”