Taking suo motu cognizance of the alleged custodial torture of two youths at Motu Police Station in Malkangiri district, the Odisha human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Tuesday issued a notice to the Superintendent of Police of Malkangiri directing him to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
Passing the order, the rights body wrote, "We have come across a news publication from which it appears that two persons namely, Binod Biswas and Biplab Haldar of village MV-8 under Motu P.S. have been subjected to torture in police custody after which their condition became serious and they were admitted in the hospital."
"The news article also discloses holding of a Kangaroo Court in the village," the Commission pointed out.
Taking serious note of the matter, the Commission further wrote, "Having come across such newspaper report which prima facie discloses about the horrible state of affairs, violating the human rights of the two youths, this Commission takes suo mote cognizance of the matter."
The rights body asked the SP of Malkangiri to conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report by the next date of hearing on November 26, 2021.
It is pertinent to mention here that, two youths were admitted to the MV-79 health centre in critical condition on Sunday evening after they were allegedly subjected to brutality in custody at Motu police station in Malkangiri district for four days.
However, the district Superintendent of Police (SP) has refuted the charges of any assault or brutality in police custody.
As per the allegations made by the youths, a kangaroo court was held at their village where they were accused of committing theft at a fellow villager’s house. They alleged that they were even beaten up by some villagers during the kangaroo court proceedings.
The next day, the Motu Police picked them up and took them to the police station where they were allegedly assaulted for four days before being released on Sunday.