Baripada: Bizarre as it may sound, a man in Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district was allegedly arrested by the police on charges of theft from a temple that occurred on the day when he was already lodged in jail.
As per reports, a man named Ramakant Nayak from Nuasahi village under Udala police limits in Mayurbhanj district was arrested on November 8, 2018 and remained in jail until November 29, 2018. Ramakant was again arrested on February 24, 2019 on charges of theft from Sai Temple at Bhimatali square of Udala which occurred on the night of November 11, 2018, when according to police records, Ramakant was still in jail.
Such discrepancies have triggered suspicion of foul play by police.
Ramakant alleged that “Sai Temple was robbed while I was in jail on Nov 11, 2018. But I was arrested for the crime for reasons beyond comprehension. I demand justice for myself.”
When questioned by OTV, Sanatan Sahu, the IIC who allegedly arrested Ramakant on Feb 24, 2019 got agitated and said that he is not obliged to reply to OTV and is only answerable to the SP.
While some senior retired cops came down heavily on the Udala Police for its negligence, some social workers termed it as a gross violation of human rights.
Retired Superintendent of Police, Suryamani Tripathy said, “It’s not an ordinary offence, but a serious offence by the police. Framing a person on false charges amounts to severe punishment.”
“It seems like the police had deliberately framed Ramakant to improve its conviction record,” added Tripathy.
Commenting on the matter, human rights activist and lawyer, Biswapriya Kanungo said, “This seems as a classic example of police framing people on false charges and it raises questions on Odisha government's 5T push for transparent governance. The Mayurbhanj SP should take immediate measures and provide justice to Ramakant.”