CUTTACK: In a shocking incident, a 68-year-old man allegedly died due to excessive torture in Kissan Nagar police custody here on Tuesday night.
The deceased, identified as Gunanidhi Nayak of Gosainpatna in Nischintakoili block, was working as a salesman at a retail store of Gauri Shankar Weavers’ Cooperative Society.
According to the deceased’s daughter, 42-year-old physically challenged Susama Rani Nayak, police whisked her father away from their house at about 3.30 am. ‘‘When I asked the cops about my father’s offence, they told me to come to the police station the next day to know about his crime,’’ she said.
However, at about 5.30 am, police informed the family members that Gunanidhi suddenly became sick and was admitted in Raghunathpur CHC in Jagatsinghpur district. When the family rushed to the hospital, they found the body of Gunandhi lying on a bed, Susama said.
In the FIR lodged with Headquarter DSP Ashok Kumar Patnaik, who rushed to Kissan Nagar police station to take stock of the situation, Susama alleged that the reason behind her father’s death was excessive torture by police.
On the other hand, IIC of Kissan Nagar police station Prabhas Chandra Sahu said one Puspalata Sahu of Manijanga had filed an FIR on Tuesday alleging that Gunanidhi had assaulted two minor girls (including her daughter) sexually on December 3.
Acting on the FIR, a police team had gone to Gunanidhi’s house. When police brought Gunanidhi out of his house, he suddenly started vomiting. “His wife requested the police to take him to a hospital instead of police station as Gunanidhi had consumed poison,’’ Sahu claimed.
Contacted, medical officer-in-charge, Raghunathpur CHC Dr Rashmi Ranjan Behera said Gunanidhi was brought to the hospital in a police van and was received dead at 5.05 am on Wednesday.
SP, Cuttack (Rural) Madhab Chandra Sahoo refuted the allegations of custodial death and said an unnatural death case has been registered and postmortem report is awaited for further investigation.