Odisha Maobadi Party (OMP) leader Sabyasachi Panda on Thursday accused the Ganjam police of staging a fake encounter at Indragarh to cover up the custodial death of Pratap Pradhan, who died under mysterious circumstances at the Sadar police station of Phulbani on December 23.
He demanded arrest of Ganjam SP Asish Singh and DIG (Southern Range) Amitabh Thakur. “The exchange of fire between the Maoists and the police was an effort to cover up the custodial death of Pradhan. The youth had no link with our Maoists party or CPI(Maoist). The exchange of fire was a well-orchestrated plan of Ganjam SP and DIG to link the youth with Maoists and cover up the custodial death,” said Panda in an audio clip released to the media. The Maoist leader also demanded compensation of Rs10 lakh to the bereaved family of Pradhan. It is to be noted that DIG Thakur had said that the police had information that some youths posing as Maoists were engaged in extortion on the Kalinga Ghats. A special squad of the police had nabbed Pratap from the spot while his two accomplices had managed to escape.