A man who was arrested by Badagada Police in Bhubaneswar on charges of stealing a bicycle on Sunday night died later with the family members of decreased alleging he succumbed to custodial torture.
Pradeep Sahu, who hailed from Kapilaprasad in the city, reportedly fell sick in the custody and died at Capital Hospital.
The wife of the deceased lodged a complaint alleging that her husband was tortured by the police in the custody which led to his death.
“My brothers dropped my husband at Rasulgarh yesterday evening. We were unaware of his whereabouts thereafter. When I tried to contact him over phone, his cell phone was found to be switched off,” said the wife of the deceased.
“At around 1.30 am, police knocked on my doors. When I opened the door, they inquired about my name and other details.
Though I asked them what had happened, they revealed nothing. Instead, they asked me to visit the Capital Hospital. Upon arriving there, I learnt that my husband was no more,” she added.
She further alleged, “If the police nabbed my husband at 7.30, why they informed me at 1.30 am. It proved that they killed him in the custody.”
On the other hand, the police said Sahu, who had been facing multiple theft cases, had suffered injuries while trying to give them a slip which subsequently led to his death.
As per the police version, a team tried to nab Sahu at Brahmeswarpatna at around 8 pm yesterday. In the escape bid, he had suffered injuries.
He later fell ill at the police station and was rushed to the Capital Hospital. However, he died at the hospital, the police claimed.