BHUBANESWAR: A 32-year-old man died allegedly after being assaulted by a group of locals on charges of stealing coconuts and misbehaving with a woman under the influence of alcohol. Police have, so far, arrested two persons in this connection.
The deceased was identified as Tofan Nayak of Harijan Sahi. The incident occurred in Bhimpur village under Banapur police limits in Khurda district on Sunday. In a video of the incident which went viral on social media on Monday, Nayak is seen tied to an electric pole by a few locals who subject him to blows and kicks. Police received information about the incident at about 4.43 pm and rushed to the spot.
They held discussions with the villagers and rescued Nayak. He was taken to Banapur police station at around 6.30 pm. His family members were informed and they arrived at the police station two hours later.
Police said Nayak’s family claimed he was mentally disturbed for the last 20 to 25 days and refused to carry out his medical examination or lodge a complaint against the persons who beat him up. To secure his release, Nayak’s family also gave in writing that he was in stable condition during his detention in the police station.
On Monday morning, he started vomiting blood and was taken to Banapur community health centre. As his health condition deteriorated, he was shifted to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar where he succumbed at around 10.25 am.
After his death, Nayak’s wife Sasmita (28) lodged a complaint with Banapur police demanding the arrest of the persons who assaulted him. Police suspect four to five persons thrashed him over suspicion of theft and he may have sustained some internal injuries during the incident.
Police refuted allegations of excesses in custody and said Nayak looked absolutely fine during his detention and was not subjected to any ill-treatment by the cops.
“So far, two persons have been arrested for thrashing Nayak and efforts are on to identify and nab others involved in attacking him. The exact reason behind his death can be ascertained after receiving his postmortem report,” said Khurda SP, Parmar Smit Parshottamdas.