Three members of a Dalit family of Atamala village, who had launched an indefinite fast before the Collectorate on Friday against police atrocity, called off the agitation after assurance on Saturday.
The Additional District Magistrate assured the victims of probing the case and taking action against the errant. Relying on the assurance, we called off our agitation on Saturday, informed Jagannath Behera.
Reports said the victims, Brundaban Behera and his son Jagannath Behera, had come under wrath of one police constable Atul Kumar Biswal following an incident at Hat Bazar here three months back. The victims had complained that constable Biswal and his associate had severely beaten them but police arrested the father-son duo on the charge of assaulting a police constable and slapped a case against them under various sections of IPC and forwarded them to court.
The victims had lodged an FIR against constable Biswal alleging his unruly act and misbehaving with Jagannath’s wife Baisali Behera but police ignored the complaint.
After spending 18 days in jail, the victims got bail from court and approached the Superintendent of Police, the State Human Rights Commission, the Women Commission and the district Collector, seeking justice but failed to receive any response. At long last, they decided to hold the fast unto death before the Collectorate.
Baisali informed that as they are Dalits and poor, no body was hearing their grievances. “A man in uniform assaulted my husband, old father- in- law and later insulted me in my residence but the police have ignored our complaint and did not conduct a probe,” she lamented.