Berhampur: A major controversy has erupted in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Monday after 32-year-old daily wage labourer died following alleged severe custodial torture.
The deceased has been identified as Sushanta Sahu of Subalaya village under Kabisuryanagar police limits.
According to sources, he along with another person was picked by police during a raid near a local hill in connection with a stone blasting case. While one was forwarded to court, Sushanta was illegally detained at the Kabisuryanagar police station for nearly seven days during which he subjected to brutal, unspeakable third-degree torture before being released in critical condition on Saturday.
Sahu’s wife, Mamajini Pradhan (25), claimed that her physically challenged husband, who had gone for work and may have been involved in a verbal altercation, was severely beaten. She alleged that police inflicted blisters on his body, poured hot water on him, and rubbed chilli powder, leading to extreme suffering. She further alleged that police summoned Sushanta’s father, Khadal Sahu, and brother, Srikant Sahu, to the police station around 8.30 pm on May 31 and obtained their signatures on a blank sheet of paper before directing them to take Sushanta home. “He was handed over to us in a very poor condition,” she said, adding that the family rushed him to hospital but he succumbed to the injuries.
Sahu was first admitted to Aska Hospital around 12:23 am in a critical state, where medical officer Dr Bal Gopal Behera noted injury marks on several parts of his body, including the chest. After initial treatment, he was referred to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, where doctors declared him dead.
In a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Mamajini had demanded examination of CCTV footage from the police station covering the period from May 25 to May 31 and stringent action against police officer Nitish Kumar Mishra and other personnel involved in the alleged torture.
Sources further stated that the Inspector General (IG) of the Southern Range has taken serious note of the incident and directed the Ganjam SP to conduct a thorough investigation. A preliminary probe has begun, and the Ganjam Additional SP has visited the Kabisuryanagar police station to lead the inquiry.
The postmortem report is currently awaited to officially establish the exact cause of death and confirm whether the physical injuries match the allegations.
Other two recent cases
Just a week before the Ganjam incident, a shocking case of custodial torture came to light on May 25 at the Talchua Marine police station in Kendrapada district. A mother and son were allegedly brutally beaten and locked in a restroom for four hours following a domestic dispute complaint filed by the woman’s estranged husband. After medical examinations confirmed severe injuries, Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Sandhyarani Jena was immediately suspended for gross misconduct.
In a similar turn of events on Sunday, Niranjan Behera, the IIC of Baranga police station in Cuttack, was removed from his post following intense four-day protests by Chandi Prasad villagers. He faces allegations of relentlessly torturing a suspect, 34-year-old Rakesh Behera, who is currently battling for his life at SCB Medical College and Hospital. Rakesh had been brought in for questioning on May 20 after a half-buried body was found near the Kathajodi river. Despite Rakesh’s insistence that the body was not his missing wife, family members allege that police refused to believe him and tortured him for days. Ironically, his wife was later located safe and sound in Delhi.
According to information share by Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityananda Rai in Lok Sabha in March this year, Odisha reported 9 cases of custodial death between 2025 and March 15, 2026, as against 2 each in 2024-25, 2024-23 and 2021-22 and three in 2022-23.
