Bhubaneswar: Death of a 24-year-old man at a de-addiction centre under mysterious circumstances here Thursday morning sparked controversy after his family members levelled murder charges against the authorities, reportedly over non-payment of fees. The deceased was identified as Prashant Nayak, a native of Nayagarh district. Laxmisagar police station IIC P Shyam Sundar Rao said, “Prashant was lodged at the facility near Mahadev Nagar by his family members around five months ago. Police enquiries revealed that a tiff ensued between the authorities and Prashant’s family after the latter failed to settle a bill of Rs 27,000.
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A few days ago, authorities thwarted Prashant’s release when his father approached them to take him home. Meanwhile, medical reports suggested that Prashant’s BP shot up to 195/105, Wednesday night when he was administered pills that brought down his BP. “However, some inmates said he collapsed when he sat down for breakfast. He was then taken to Capital Hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival”, said a cop, citing the CCTV footage of the facility. His family, however, alleged that he was beaten to death. A probe is underway.
