Koraput: The death of a man in police custody in Odisha’s Nabarangpur district Wednesday triggered protests by villagers who threw stones at the police station.
The deceased was identified as Purna Kalar, a resident of Anchala village under the Dabugaon police station limits. He was arrested in connection with the alleged abduction of a minor girl. He was found dead inside the toilet of the lock-up at Dabugaon Police Station in Nabarangpur district.
Police sources said that the man was nabbed Monday and sent for medical examination Tuesday. His body was found in the toilet of Dabugaon police station Wednesday morning, before his scheduled production at the court.
While police said that the accused hanged himself in the toilet, the family members claimed that he was beaten to death by cops. Preliminary reports, however, suggest that he allegedly used a strip of cloth torn from a bedsheet and tied it to the ventilation structure for hanging.
The incident sparked protests by family members and villagers of the deceased, who gathered outside the police station and questioned how the death occurred in police custody. They also staged a road blockade demanding justice.
Angry over the incident, the villagers staged a protest outside the police station, blocked the Umerkote–Nabarangpur road and pelted stones at the police establishment. One home guard was injured in the stone pelting by the mob, police said.
Senior officers from Nabarangpur and Papadahandi police stations rushed to the spot to control the situation. The administration deployed two platoons (60 personnel) of police and additional officers around Dabugaon station to prevent escalation.
The body was shifted to the Nabarangpur District Headquarters Hospital for post-mortem examination, which will be conducted in the presence of a magistrate. Heavy police deployment has been made at the hospital, police said.
Superintendent of Police, Nabarangpur, Madkar Sandeep Sampat, said the matter would be thoroughly investigated to ascertain the circumstances under which the alleged suicide took place inside the police station.
