IFS officer’s sexual assault case: Madras HC directs TN police to file FIR

The Madras High Court (HC) on Monday, March 4, instructed the Tamil Nadu police to investigate the sexual assault complaint against three Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers for demanding sexual favours from a woman officer. Justice Anand Venkatesh held that the police should file a First Information Report (FIR) and submit their findings by June 2024. 

The survivor told TNM, “After the last hearing at the Madras HC, held on February 15, the Srirangam Police Assistant Commissioner held an inquiry with me and with one of the accused- N Satheesh. The police have not filed an FIR to date and now, they have to comply with the court’s order. An FIR will finally be filed soon.” It must be noted that In July 2022, the woman filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police and the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Trichy, but they allegedly didn’t respond nor file an FIR. In September 2023, she pursued a case against them for inaction.

Before filing a complaint with the police, the woman officer had filed a complaint in 2019 with the Conservator of Forests against three officers named N Satheesh, Chief Conservator of Forests, Senthil Kumar, Conservator of Forest, Nagaland, and Sujatha, Conservator of Forest, Vellore. According to the complaint, N Satheesh had been calling her and her husband, demanding sexual favours from her. Both Senthil Kumar and Sujatha urged the survivor to comply with Satheesh’s demands, her complaint read.

Although the survivor submitted recordings of Satheesh’s calls, the Internal Committee (IC) formed by the IFS concluded that the call recordings submitted by the complainant were not conclusive since Satheesh claimed that they were forged and asked for a police investigation. The woman officer, however, claimed that the officers in the IC were supporting Satheesh. She also alleged that Satheesh was using his influence to prevent the police from filing an FIR. 

Meanwhile, she alleged that she has been receiving threats with demands of withdrawing the complaint and has sought police protection.