Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Jan 15: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the superintendent of police (SP) Malakanagiri over lapse by police that led to the death of a home guard in the region.
The NHRC acted on a petition filed by rights campaigner Subash Mohapatra regarding the execution of a home guard, Sarat Khara, in Malkangiri district, following an order passed by a praja court run by naxals.
“The Malkangiri SP is directed to submit a report on
what the police did when Khara left his service under the threat of naxals and what steps they took to protect his life,” the commission said. “Khara, who was a resident of Panasput village in Malkangiri district, was killed by naxals of the area in a barbaric manner following an order passed by a praja court. He was killed for being a police informer. Khara was a development actor in the region and wanted development in the area such as roads, schools and water bodies,” Mohapatra said.
Earlier, the Malkangiri SP had told the commission, “Khara was staying in Chitrakonda with his son and two daughters. He was working as a home guard since 2007 under the Chitrakonda police. In 2012, Khara’s mother informed him that she was receiving threatening calls from naxals asking her to warn him to leave the home guard job or else he would be killed.”
“After getting the threat calls, Khara remained absent from his duties as a home guard and went back to his village, Panasput, where his mother and other relatives were staying. During his stay at Panasput, Khara was found to be involved in fraudulent activities such as collecting money from youngsters by promising them home guard jobs and collecting money from senior citizens by promising to obtain their old age pension,” the SP said.
Khara’s fraudulent activities were reported to the naxals, and they asked their supporters to organize a praja court at Panasput September 5, 2014.
