Jajpur: Nine persons, including the owner of a de-addiction centre, were arrested in connection with the alleged assault and death of a man at the facility in Odisha’s Jajpur district.
Police said the accused were produced before a court on Tuesday following investigation into the incident that took place on June 19 at ‘Sudhara Patha’ de-addiction centre at Jaraka under Dharmashala police limits.
The deceased, identified as Rajib Barik of Bhagabanpur village, had previously undergone treatment at the centre for two months before returning home on June 5.
Rajib was called to the centre on June 19 to cut the hair and beard of inmates. After completing the work and receiving payment, Rajib allegedly entered into an argument at a nearby market.
Sources said the staff members brought Rajib back to the centre, where he was allegedly assaulted. His wife has alleged that he was beaten to death. He was later shifted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Dharmashala, where doctors declared him dead.
Based on a complaint lodged by Rajib’s wife, police launched an investigation and arrested the centre owner along with eight others, a senior police official said.
During the investigation, a scientific team inspected the site and police seized the hard disk containing the CCTV footage from the location. Upon reviewing the footage, the investigators found the involvement of the nine persons. Based on the preliminary investigation, these nine people were detained. Subsequently, they were arrested and forwarded to the court, he added.
Further investigation is in progress.
