Investigating Officer In ‘Custody Death’ Of Bicycle Thief With 2 Identities Transferred

Bhubaneswar: The investigating Officer SK Behera in the alleged Badagada police station custodial death has been transferred. An inspector-rank official along with the district Human Rights Protection Cell will probe the matter, the Commissionerate Police sources said on Tuesday.

The death of a 46-year-old vegetable vendor, who was picked up by a patrol team while moving ‘suspiciously on a bicycle in Brahmeswarpatna area on charges of stealing bicycles, on Monday triggered accusations of custodial excesses in the city.

Identifying him as Pradip Sahoo, police claimed that he felt uneasy around 9 pm following which a policeman performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on him but his condition did not improve. He was rushed to Capital Hospital where doctors declared him ‘brought dead.

His wife Banita, however, identified him as Debendra Chaudhury and alleged he succumbed after being tortured by police. “Though he limped, he was healthy. my husband died due to torture in the police station. He had no criminal antecedents,” she said. She also produced an Aadhaar card to support her claim.

“Debendra was completely fine on Sunday. He had eaten fish and rice before leaving for his home,” said Banita’s mother Kumari Pradhan said.

Police suspected that Pradip had possibly forged his name as Debendra Chaudhury in the Aadhaar card.

Even as police were struggling with the two identities, a high drama unfolded at the mortuary of Capital Hospital when another woman, Manorama Sahoo, claimed that the dead person was her husband. This woman, a mother of four children, identified him as Pradip Sahoo. She and Banita then had a scuffle on the hospital premises to take possession of the deceased’s body.

“The deceased after being taken to the police station had confirmed that his name was Pradip Sahoo. He had a record of theft cases. As the incident took place in police custody, the inquest of the body is being done in the presence of a magistrate as per NHRC guidelines,” Bhubaneswar DCP Umashankar Dash had told the media on Monday.

An Additional DCP rank officer is probing the case and more details will emerge after receiving his postmortem report, he added.