BHUBANESWAR: A 46-Year-Old vendor who was picked up by a patrol team on suspicion of ‘bicycle theft’ died in police custody triggering accusations of custodial excesses in the City on Monday. The vendor Debendra Chaudhury, police claimed, was found moving ‘suspiciously on a bicycle in Brahmeswarpatna area on Sunday evening and was brought to Badagada Police Station where he reportedly fell sick. After preliminary care, he was taken to Capital Hospital where doctors declared him ‘brought dead.’
The family members, however, contested the police claims. His wife Banita alleged that Debendra succumbed after being tortured by police. “My husband sold vegetables and eggs in a makeshift shop near our house and was never involved in any wrongdoing,” she said.
The whole incident remained mired in confusion. The victim’s identity left the cops at their wit’s end. Police as well a woman named Manorama Sahoo claiming to be his wife identified him as Pradip Sahoo. On the other hand, Banita, claiming to be the deceased’s wife, said his name was Debendra. An Aadhaar card also showed him as Debendra Chaudhury. Police said it went by the name of Pradip.
Police claimed that the victim was picked up by Badagada police at about 8 pm on Sunday after they recovered three CCTV footage in which he could allegedly be seen stealing bicycles from the area over the last few days.
“When a patrol team spotted him moving suspiciously on a cycle, he was brought to police station,’ said an officer. Police claimed that Debendra was not in the lock-up but was seated inside the police station. He reportedly felt uneasy at about 9 pm following which a policeman performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him but his condition did not improve. He was rushed to Capital Hospital where he was declared dead.
Banita said, Debendra returned from her father Basant Pradhan’s house in Pandara area on Sunday evening. Her brother Sunil Pradhan dropped Debendra off at Palasuni from where he was to take a bus till his house at Kapilaprasad in Sundarpada. She last spoke to Debendra over the phone around 6 pm when he was on the way. His mobile phone was found to be switched off after some time, she said.
Around 11 pm, a policeman in plainclothes reached Debendra’s rented house in Kapilaprasad and met the landlord Babuna Praharaj. Babuna told the policeman that he knew Debendra and that he was staying with his wife and four children since last two years. At 1 am, two to three policemen in uniform went to Debendra’s house and informed Babuna that the tenant had passed away.
“Debendra was completely fine on Sunday. He had eaten fish and rice before leaving for his home,” said Banita’s mother Kumari Pradhan said. Bhubaneswar DCP, Umashankar Dash said, “the investigation is being carried out as per the guidelines of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on custodial deaths. An Additional DCP rank officer is probing the case and more details will emerge after receiving his postmortem report.
Another officer claimed that the entire footage of the police station is available and senior officers have examined it. “He was not subjected to any torture,” he claimed. Police claimed Pradip had possibly forged his name as Debendra Chaudhury in the Aadhaar card. He was arrested last year on charges of theft. He was again found to be involved in stealing some bicycles in the area. In the evening, Manorama arrived at Capital Hospital from Khurda district’s Bhusandpur. She and Banita had a scuffle on the hospital premises to take possession of the deceased’s body.