Bhubaneswar: Baranga police station IIC Niranjan Behera was transferred to the Cuttack DCP office following allegations that a youth was subjected to “torture” in custody, sources said Sunday.
The move comes amid mounting scrutiny over the alleged incident, which has triggered an official inquiry. Allegations surfaced that the youth was “subjected to third-degree treatment” at the police station, prompting immediate administrative action.
Meanwhile, Purighat police station IIC Biswaranjan Nayak has been assigned the additional charge of Barang police station. He will oversee the station’s functioning until further notice.
Amid an outrage by residents of Chandiprasad village, Cuttack DCP Khilari Rishikesh Dnyandeo had rejected the allegation of torture and claimed that the man, Rakesh Behera (32), was undergoing treatment for kidney and lung diseases.
However, the state police chief had sought a report on the allegations of torture made by the locals.
According to officials, Behera’s wife went missing May 16, following which he lodged a complaint at the Baranga police station.
He was detained for questioning Thursday after police found the body of an unidentified woman from the Mahanadi river May 22.
Villagers claimed that Behra had told police that the body was not that of his wife, who was later located in Delhi. However, police refused to believe his statement and tortured him physically, his father Kartik Behera alleged.
“A team of around six police personnel took Rakesh to a nearby forest Thursday night and assaulted him mercilessly. My son was critically injured, and he is now battling for his life. The police officials are not giving us any updates on his health condition,” the father alleged.
On Friday, hundreds of people blocked a road connecting Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, and held a protest demanding to know the health updates of Behera and stern action against the accused police personnel.
The man is under treatment at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.
