Following assurances from court and intense counselling by a battery of lawyers, mafia don Sushil Kumar Dhalsamant on Saturday afternoon broke his indefinite fast in the Baleswar District Jail, where he was on hunger strike since December 3.
“Sushil broke his fast by taking a glass of fruit juice after a dose of oral rehydration solution (ORS) taken in presence of the jail doctor,” informed his advocate Prasanna Mohanty, who went to Baleswar with a team of lawyers to counsel Sushil.
Sushil had resorted to the hunger strike in protest against what he said “harassment by jail authorities” after his cell and belongings were repeatedly checked by the jail staffs. He had also alleged that his winter garments, dry fruits and other belongings were taken away by the jail staffs.
Mohanty further informed that Cuttack Sadar Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) on Friday through videoconferencing had assured Sushil that his grievances against the jail staffs would be looked into and those found guilty would be punished.
Arrested in January this year by the Twin City Commissionerate police along with his elder brother Sushant in connection with a murder case, Sushil was shifted to the Baleswar jail from the Choudwar jail here in March. Sushant is now lodged in the Bhubaneswar jail.