The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has directed the Railway IG to enquire and submit a report within a month about the allegation against the Cuttack GRP IIC for illegally arresting six SUCI activists, including a woman, and allegedly torturing them in custody. Basing on a petition filed by the SUCI, Justice BK Mishra of OHRC issued the notice to the senior police officer, informed an SUCI release here on Saturday. The release said the GRP in-charge-officer JR Samantray illegally arrested the six SUCI activists on May 8 and forwarded them to court.
“While the party activists were engaged in public subscription collection in specified party boxes, the IIC booked them on charges of extortion,” said an office-bearer, Khageswar Sethy. Not only the party workers were wrongfully arrested, they were also illegally detained in the lockup and subjected to inhumanly treatment, Sethy said. Although the leaders brought the IIC’s highhandedness to the notice of the Railway SP and the DGP, no action was taken against the erring cop, following which the party was left with no alternative but to approach OHRC, the release said.