The Orissa High Court on Friday sought a detailed investigation report from the State Government over the alleged custodial death of an accused in Puri town. The court asked the Government to submit an affidavit in this regard by Monday.
The directive was issued by the court while hearing a PIL filed by Puri-based lawyer Sarat Kumar Rayguru. The petitioner has sought a High Court-monitored probe into the matter, stringent action against the accused police officials and compensation to the deceased’s family.
Notably, it is alleged that K Ramesh (33) of the Loknath Road area in Puri town died due to police excesses.However, Puri SP Akhileshwar Singh on Thursday had said Ramesh was arrested by the Baselisahi police for interrogation as he was attempting to commit a crime at Mangalaghat and sustained injuries during a scuffle with police and was admitted to the District Headquarters Hospital, where his condition deteriorated and he died during treatment, the SP said.
Ramesh was involved in five criminal cases across several districts and was released on bail from the Talcher jail recently, the SP added.
On the other hand, Ramesh’s family alleged that he was picked up by police from his house and died due to torture by the cops.
The family members further alleged that they were not allowed to see the body while police conducted the cremation instead of handing over the body to them after postmortem.