Taking serious note of the death of man in police custody, the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) on Monday directed the State Government to pay a compensation of Rs3 lakh to the widow of Basant Pradhan, who was allegedly killed while in police custody in Balangir last year.
The commission further ordered for payment of Rs 1.5 lakh as compensation to Bilal Ansari and Rs25,000 to Mohammed Fazal, who were allegedly tortured by the police while in custody.
Notably, Basant Pradhan of Hatapadapada of Titlagarh was picked up by Balangir Town police on charges of buying of a stolen mobile phone handset on June 10 last year. He was allegedly subjected to severe torture while he was in police custody.
After his release from the police station, Basant succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a nursing home in Titlagarh. Following Basant’s death on June 28 at the nursing home, angry locals torched the SDPO office at Titlagarh.
Bilal Ansari, a 20-year-old shoe shop owner, later revealed that he too was picked up by the same police on similar charges along with Basant. He had claimed that he too was subjected to severe torture at the hands of the police, but was released two days before Basant was released.