CUTTACK: Amid mounting public outrage over allegations of custodial torture of one Rakesh Behera, who is currently undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital, commissioner of police S Devdatta Singh has transferred the inspector-in-charge (IIC) of Barang police station.
The transfer order was issued after villagers of Chandiprasad staged a road blockade and demonstration, demanding clarity on Behera’s medical condition and a fair and impartial inquiry into the alleged custodial torture. The protesters also sought action against the police officials concerned.
According to an order issued by the CP, Barang IIC Niranjan Behera has been withdrawn from the police station and posted to the Bhubaneswar Urban Police District headquarters. Biswaranjan Nayak, IIC of Purighat police station in Cuttack, has been given additional charge of Barang police station.
Police sources said the transfer was intended to facilitate an unbiased investigation into the custodial torture allegations, which are yet to be substantiated and are being looked into.
According to reports, a half-buried body of an unidentified woman was recovered from the sand bed of the Kathajodi river near Brahmanigan on May 21. Subsequently, Behera, a resident of Chandiprasad village, was called for questioning as his wife had been missing since May 15 and he had lodged a complaint at Barang police station on May 16.
Family members of Behera and locals alleged that he was detained and assaulted by the police despite informing them that the body recovered from the riverbed was not of his wife, who was later traced to Delhi.
They further alleged that after his condition deteriorated, the police admitted him to a private hospital and later shifted him to SCB MCH without informing his family members.