Alleging that the local police brutally tortured him, 35-year-old Kalahandi-based businessman Rajesh Kumar Gupta on Sunday moved the Odisha Human Right Commission (OHRC) here seeking its intervention in his case.
Gupta alleged that he was tortured and forced to drink urine in the Koksara police station in Kalahandi district by the IIC with the help of SDPO of Dharmagarh after being arrested without any reason.
Gupta filed a petition in the OHRC against the IIC and the SDPO. He said he was put to suffering by the authorities in Kalahandi after he unearthed and made public some illegal activities in the procurement of paddy from farmers.
He said he was arrested along with his brother and driver while returning to his home at Jaipatna at around 3 pm on March 7 this year. The police detained his vehicle and took him into custody without giving any reason, he alleged.
“I was not offered food by the police personnel on the day of the arrest. When I asked about the reason for my arrest, the IIC of the police station verbally abused me,” said Gupta.
“The next day, I was asked to pay Rs 5.50 lakh to the Superintendent of Police for my release. When I declined to do so, the police again took me into lockup,” he said.
“The IIC was forced to register a case following an order from SDJM, Kalahandi whom my mother and wife contacted and told my sufferings the next day,” Gupta said.
Even after the case was registered, he was asked to sign the arrest memo mentioning the date of previous day. “When I refused to do so, I was brutally tortured and forced to drink urine by the IIC and some constables. Moreover, they threatened me of dire consequences if I did not sign the memo,” he said.
“I was released on bond yesterday after spending 14 days in the Dharmagarh jail. It was a preplanned act by the police,” said Gupta in his petition.