Bhubaneswar: In a swift action, the State government today transferred Dibyalochan Behera, the officer in-charge (OIC) of Jagannath Prasad police station under whose custody the death of a villager occurred yesterday, to Chhatrapur police station. Also, the case has been handed over to Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) for further investigation.
Ganjam superintendent of police (SP) Narasingha Mishra told mediapersons that Sushant Sethi has been appointed as the new OIC of Jagannath Prasad police station.
Meanwhile, taking suo motu cognisance of the news report, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) asked the Ganjam SP and the district collector to submit a report within four weeks on the custodial death.
Notably, police had taken Gaurahari Swain of Patadhar village into custody on Monday night on charges of theft. However, he had to be taken to a local hospital on Tuesday morning after his health condition deteriorated. However, Swain later died while undergoing treatment there.
The kin of the victim alleged that the death occurred on account of police torture. Locals had staged a road blockade demanding suspension of the concerned police officer and adequate compensation to the victim’s family.
The additional superintendent of police and Bhanjanagar sub-divisional police officer rushed to the village with two platoons of reinforcement. The agitators relented after the police officials pacified them and assured of strict action.
Sources said the incident, occurring barely a couple of months after the OHRC rapping the State government over a custodial death in Bolangir and asking it to pay Rs 3 lakh ex-gratia to the widow of the victim, prompted the government to act without wasting time.
On March 23 this year, the OHRC had ordered the government to pay the amount to the widow of Basant Pradhan, who was allegedly tortured and killed while in police custody in Bolangir in 2014. Pradhan, a native of Hatapadapada of Titilagarh, was arrested by Bolangir Town police on charges of buying a stolen mobile phone in June 2014.
Reports said he was severely tortured while being in the police custody. When he collapsed, he was taken to Titilagarh hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries there.