KENDRAPARA: A 20-year-old widow’s indefinite protest in front of the Collectorate demanding action against the policemen responsible for the alleged custodial death of her husband entered the 30th day on Thursday.
Rojalini Paital of Balana village under Mahakalapada police limits along with her six-month-old son had launched her indefinite dharna on September 4 seeking justice from the authorities. The police had arrested her husband Abinash in a mobile theft case. The cops picked him up on August 25, and his body was found hanging in an abandoned house adjacent to Mahakalapada police station on August 26 morning.
She alleged that her husband was innocent and falsely implicated in the case and he died due to torture by the police. The police had subjected him to third degree treatment. Unable to bear the torture, he died in custody, she said and accused the police of hanging the body to make it look like a case of suicide to hide their crime.
Displaying the photos of her husband during post-mortem, which revealed Abinash died due to torture, at the dharna place, she said the body bore serious injury marks. “Autopsy report clearly revealed that he was tortured to death,” she added.
Despite the growing support for Rojalini’s protest, the authorities are yet to take any stringent action against the policemen who allegedly killed him in the police station. Rojalini’s fight for justice is now going viral on social media and online campaigns in support of her are also going on, said Ranjan Das, a social worker of Kendrapara.
“Autopsy report of Abinash clearly revealed that he was tortured to death as his body bore a number of serious injury marks. It is high time on the part of the Government to take stringent action against IIC of Mahakalapada police station and other policemen by arresting them under Section 302 (murder) of IPC who were responsible for the death of Abinash,” said Amarabara Biswal, a human rights activist.
Collector Dasarathi Satapathy said the DGP had suspended the IIC for dereliction of duty on the same day. Considering the gravity of the case and for a fair and impartial investigation, the DGP has also ordered a Crime Branch inquiry into the incident. The officials of CB are investigating the case, he added.