UMERKOTE: Chaos prevailed after a 23-year-old youth’s alleged death by suicide in Dabugaon police station drew angry protests by family members and villagers who hurled stones and bottles, leaving three cops injured on Wednesday.
The deceased was identified as Purna Kalar, a native of Anchala village under Dabugaon police limits. Kalar was arrested on Tuesday on charges of abduction and assault of a minor girl.
The victim was scheduled to be produced before a court on the day. However, hours before his production, his death in police custody sparked outrage among family members and villagers, who staged a road blockade on Umerkote-Nabarangpur route.
The protest turned violent after agitators allegedly pelted stones and glass bottles at the police station, leaving three police personnel injured.
The agitators alleged that Kalar was assaulted in custody and that police later attempted to pass off the death as a suicide. They refused to disperse, demanding a fair and transparent investigation.
However, the police claimed that Kalar died by suicide by hanging himself in the station toilet using a bedsheet tied to a ventilation frame. The family rejected the police claims and said they shifted the body to the district headquarters hospital for postmortem without conducting the procedure in Dabuagon to suppress the matter. They said Kalar’s body was moved without prior intimation.
Senior police officers from Nabarangpur and Papadahandi rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control. Two platoons of police have been deployed to prevent further escalation.
According to police, a missing complaint was lodged by the minor girl’s family on April 5. Following this, police launched a manhunt and rescued the victim on April 25 from Dhamnaguda village under Dabugaon police station limits. Based on the victim’s statement, Kalar was arrested on Tuesday.
Umerkote SDPO Suvendu Soboro said that the body was sent to the district headquarters hospital for autopsy, following which it was handed over to the family thereafter. Meanwhile, the situation remained tense.
Nabarangpur sub-collector Prakash Chandra Mishra, who was present at the spot, said that appropriate action would be taken against those found guilty following a proper investigation.