Cuttack: Tension prevailed near Baranga police station in Odisha’s Cuttack district Friday after villagers alleged that “a youth was critically injured” due to police torture in custody.
Angry residents staged a protest in front of the police station and blocked the Trisulia-Bhubaneswar road, disrupting vehicular movement for several hours. Commuters travelling from Bhubaneswar remained stranded due to the blockade.
According to reports, around 20 platoons of police force were deployed in the area as the situation remained tense.
Villagers alleged that Baranga police had illegally detained Rakesh Behera of Chandi Prasad village and subjected him to third-degree torture inside the police station.
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Police had reportedly brought Rakesh to the station in connection with the recovery of a woman’s body from the Kathajodi riverbed. A missing complaint regarding Rakesh’s wife had earlier been lodged at the police station, and investigators suspected the body could be hers.
Family members claimed that even after Rakesh’s missing wife was traced, police did not release him. They alleged he sustained critical injuries due to police assault and was later admitted to hospital in a critical condition.
Police have not yet issued any official statement on the allegations.
