SAMBALPUR: A 35-year-old man who was picked up by the police in Bargarh town of Odisha died on Saturday, triggering vehement protests by a mob that alleged custodial death and baton charge by law enforcers to rein in the agitators.
Dramatic scenes were witnessed as the deceased's younger brother went to the terrace of a seven-storey hospital and threatened to die by suicide if action was not taken against the police personnel responsible behind the death.
Police, however, dismissed the allegations and asserted they were not involved in any way behind Gobinda Kumbhar's death.
Kumbhar, a resident of Tora village in Bargarh block, was picked up from his house on Friday night in connection with a case of a brawl, an officer said.
In the morning, Kumbhar became unwell and officers of the Bargarh town police station took him to a hospital, he said.
When his condition deteriorated, he was rushed to the district hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dilip Chandra Bag said.
According to the deceased's wife, four police personnel who came to their house had said Gobinda was being taken for some inquiry and he would be released the next morning.
Rubi Kumbhar, who was wailing inconsolably, told journalists that her husband was dragged away by the collar.
"My husband was killed due to their atrocities. I have two children. How would I live now?" the woman asked, as she demanded capital punishment for those guilty.
The deceased's mother alleged that the police personnel misbehaved with them.
"They also abused my son in front of us before taking him from the house. And in the morning, they informed us that my son had become serious," she said.
The incident led to intense protests by irate villagers, who ransacked the district headquarter hospital.
Tension ran high as the deceased's brother climbed on the top of the hospital and threatened to jump off the building as he demanded justice.
After hectic discussions, people persuaded him and succeeded in bringing him down the building.
Later, the mob kept the dead body at a road junction and staged a protest, seeking action against the police officers.
After around 3 hours of blockade, the irate protesters marched towards the Bargarh town police station with the body, but the security personnel stopped them on the way.
The two sides got engaged in jostling and subsequently, the police resorted to baton charge to disperse the protesters and seize the body.
Adequate police force was deployed in the Bargarh town to check any untoward incident.