Madhya Pradesh police officer Purushottam Sharma justified his actions against his wife
The news anchor of a regional TV channel in Bhopal has filed a police complaint against the wife and son of an IPS (police) officer, accusing them of tarnishing her reputation.
Purushottam Sharma, a 1986 batch IPS officer, was transferred following a viral video which showed him thrashing his wife, soon after she confronted him at the anchor's flat.
The anchor submitted a complaint against Mr Sharma's wife and son at the Shahpura police station, and claimed that the IPS officer is "like a father" to her and calls her 'beta'.
"The complaint states that her privacy and image has suffered a lot in the society and caused disrepute to her name," Shahpura police station in-charge Jitendra Patel told news agency Press Trust of India.
The anchor has demanded that police take appropriate action in the matter and protect her from undergoing "mental torture."
"As I am associated with journalism, I keep meeting officials and politicians quite often," she said in her complaint.
"On Sunday (September 27), DG Purushottam Sharma called me around 7 pm, saying he is near my place (residence), so I invited him over for a cup of tea," she said.
The anchor said some time later, Mr Sharma's wife also reached her flat and rang the doorbell. "I don't know her but I opened the door out of courtesy, after which she forcibly entered the flat," she added.
Mr Sharma and his wife had a fight, after which the IPS officer went out of the house," she said.
She claimed that Mr Sharma's wife stayed back and asked her "unnecessary questions" and also made a video-recording of her bedroom, which was made viral on social media by Mr Sharma's son, making "baseless allegations" against her.
"DG Saab (Sharma) is like my father and he used to call me 'beta'," the anchor said.
"I never realised that his coming to my home for a cup of tea will become such a big issue. It has tarnished my image and compromised my privacy," she said in the complaint.
The police station in-charge said that as this is a matter of causing disrepute to someones image, a complaint can be filed only in court.
The order to remove Mr Sharma from the post of Director Public Prosecution and transfer him to the state secretariat without assigning him any post was issued by the state home department Under Secretary Annu Bhalavi on Monday.
"Two videos related to you went viral on social media in which prima facie you are seen engaging in immoral behaviour and domestic violence with your wife," a show-cause notice issued by Annu Bhalavi to Purushottam Sharma had said.
"Your actions are in violation of the All India Services rules and therefore, you are directed to give your clarification on why disciplinary action should not be taken against you for your acts," it had said.
The government has asked Mr Sharma to submit his reply by 5:30 pm today, failing which it will be construed that he doesn't have any response to file and accordingly action will be initiated against him, the order said.
Mr Sharma's son Parth, a deputy commissioner in the Income Tax Department, sent the video to state Home Minister Narottam Mishra and some senior bureaucrats, and requested that a complaint be registered against his father.
Mr Sharma, who has been married for 32 years, had said, "This is a family matter, not a crime...I am not a criminal. My wife stalks me wherever I go. I am dealing with this."
The state women's commission has summoned Mr Sharma on October 5 and also directed it to provide security to his wife.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)