BARGARH : A day after 19-year-old youth Jitu Dansana of Piplipali village in Paikmal returned home after being presumed dead, one of the two charged with murdering him accused the police of torture to extract confession on Wednesday.Halu Gurla, the 22-year-old accused of Bisipada in Bargarh town, said police picked up him while he was sleeping in his house and took him to a police station in Sambalpur where he was physically tortured. Later, the cops took him to Padampur police station where he was again tortured both physically and mentally, Halu claimed.
Under duress and frightened over the attitude of police, Halu confessed to killing Jitu. “I had to languish in jail for about six months for the crime which I did not commit. My family members had to struggle hard for my release from jail. They borrowed money from people for my bail and the debt is yet to be repaid,” he said.
Jitu went missing on December 7, 2016 and after failing to trace him, his family members lodged a missing complaint with Paikmal police on December 24. Subsequently, police arrested Halu and another 22-year-old youth Raghab Naik on charges of murdering Jitu on June 28 last year.While Raghab could not be contacted as he was out of town, his sister Pratima also made similar charges against the cops. Rabghab confessed to the murder due to police torture. He had even informed about the torture to his mother. “We had to pass through a harrowing time to arrange bail for my brother,” Pratima said.
DIG of Northern Range Satyabrata Bhoi said investigation into the matter is underway. The circumstances under which police registered a murder case will be inquired into. The probe will reveal whether it is a gross negligence or just an omission and accordingly, action will be taken, Bhoi added.