RAJGANGPUR: Death of a youth in custody has landed Rajgangpur police in a spot of bother with his father alleging that he was murdered.The 26-year-old youth Jay Lakra’s death led to tension in Rajgangpur town with 12 platoons of police deployed to deal with any law and order situation. Sources said Jay, a resident of Kutra block, was brought to Rajgangpur police station for questioning in connection with allegations of forgery two days ago. He was reportedly found hanging in the washroom of the police lock-up at around 10 pm on Wednesday.
Rajgangpur IIC PK Jena said Jay went to the washroom after having dinner. He said preliminary investigation reveals that he took the extreme step at around 10 pm. “He used the rope of his winter jacket to hang himself from the overhead shower pipe,” Jena said. He denied custodial assault or torture by policemen on duty and said the youth might have committed suicide as he had lost his mental balance after cheating several persons.
The IIC said the police had received complaints against the youth for cheating people to the tune of `2 lakh and it may go up to `10 lakh. Police said owing to his erratic behaviour, Jay was not having cordial relationship with his parents for the last four years. His wife had deserted him three years ago. However, the deceased’s father Budhram Lakra, an ex-serviceman, said Jay was killed in cold blood and demanded the arrest of policemen involved in the murder. Budhram also sought action against two persons from Kutra who had lodged complaint against his son. DIG (WR) Kavita Jalan, Sundargarh SP Soumya Mishra and other senior police officers visited the town on Thursday to take stock of the situation.