Bhubaneswar: Besides the alleged Kabisuryanagar custodial torture case, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania has directed the Human Rights Protection Cell (HRPC) to conduct a detailed inquiry into similar allegations involving a detainee at Baranga police station.
The directive covers two related cases: unnatural death case No. 19/2026 registered at Baranga police station and case No. 361/2026 at Cuttack Sadar police station. Both pertain to the alleged ill-treatment of 32-year-old Rakesh Behera, a resident of Chandiprasad village.
The incident pertains to the disappearance of Behera’s wife on May 15, following which he lodged a complaint at Barang police station. On May 21, police recovered a half-buried, decomposed body of an unidentified woman from the Kathajodi riverbed near Brahmanigan. Behera was called in for questioning in connection with the case.
According to family members and villagers, police detained Behera illegally and subjected him to physical assault despite his insistence that the recovered body was not that of his wife. The woman was later traced to Delhi, corroborating his claim. Protesters alleged that police pressured him to identify the body as his wife’s.
Baranga police have maintained that Behera was released after confirmation that the body did not belong to his wife. They stated he was subsequently injured in a bike accident and admitted to a private hospital in Phulnakhara, leading to the registration of an accident case at Sadar police station on May 26. However, family accounts and reports differ on the timeline and circumstances of his release and hospitalisation.
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Rakesh is reported to be undergoing treatment at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, with some accounts describing his condition as serious. Villagers staged prolonged protests, including a road blockade on the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack highway, demanding justice, suspension of involved officers, and clarity on his condition. Tensions escalated with demonstrations outside the police station.
Amid the mounting public outrage, Baranga police station IIC Niranjan Behera was transferred to the Cuttack DCP headquarters to facilitate an impartial probe.
Cuttack DCP Rishikesh Khilari had earlier denied the allegations of custodial torture, stating that Behera was not assaulted at the station and attributing his condition to pre-existing ailments like kidney and lung issues. An internal inquiry is underway, with CCTV footage reportedly under review.
DGP Khurania has emphasised zero tolerance for custodial torture. “Third degree has no place in the Odisha Police system,” he stated, while seeking a report from the Police Commissioner and assuring strict action if personnel are found guilty.
