Probe ordered into Odisha ‘custodial death’

Man produced in court had wound marks

June 21, 2017 09:05 pm | Updated 09:05 pm IST - BHUBANESWAR

The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Wednesday directed additional director general of Human Rights Protection Cell of State Police to probe into an alleged custodial torture of a man leading to his death in Sambalpur district.

Hearing a petition filed by human rights activists — Biswapriya Kanungo and Bijay Kumar Panda — OHRC acting chairperson Justice B.K. Mishra also asked superintendent of VSS Medical College Hospital, Burla to produce all documents of treatment extended to the man before his death.

Abhay Singh, a 35-year-old man hailing from West Bengal, and two other persons were reportedly picked up by Sambalpur Town Police Station suspecting their involvement in cellphone theft cases on May 30.

“During the next seven days, the man was tortured in three different police stations. On June 7, they were produced before the court. At the time of production in the court, he had several wounds on his body. On June 10, when his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to VSS Medical College Hospital in Burla,” alleged Mr. Kanungo. According to doctors, wounds bore marks of tortures, he pointed out.

Demands solatium

Human rights activists demanded compensation to the tune of ₹50 lakh for next of kin of the deceased. “Abhay Singh had come to Sambalpur for flower business. The man has four children. His wife is expecting their fifth child. Apart from compensation, both disciplinary and penal actions should be taken against erring police personnel,” they demanded.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.