A criminal case has been registered at Jarapara police station against former inspector in-charge Harmohan Naik and sub-inspector Sushir Ranjan Satpathy of the police station in connection with the custodial death of a local youth on January 1.
The case was registered against the police officials following inquiry by Angul SP Narasingh Bhol. While inspector Naik is currently working in Kandhamal district, Sudhir is posted in Ganjam after their suspension order was revoked recently, according to police sources.
According to Bhol, they have been booked for illegal detention of a youth, Sanjay Dehuri (22), on December 31 last year.
Sanjay was brought to the police station on the basis of a complaint filed by a fellow villager on December 31. Sanjay was found hanging from the ceiling of the police station on the new year day when police men were busy in celebrating the day.
The death triggered widespread protest by the locals who torched the police station and burnt down many vehicles outside the police station besides blocking the NH-55 on January 1. Naik and Satpathy were transferred initially and later suspended.
Quoting the post-mortem report, Bhol said the death was not due to any police torture as alleged and Sanjay had hanged himself. But it has been confirmed that the police officials were responsible for illegal detention of Sanjay and the case was filed accordingly.