One Arrested For Torture Of Inmates Of Home For Mentally Challenged In Odisha’s Sambalpur

Sambalpur: Police have arrested one person in connection with alleged torture of the inmates of a home for mentally challenged persons in Odisha’s Sambalpur city.

The inhuman conditions in which the inmates of Samartha, managed by Adarsha Shishu Mandir at Netaji Nagar in Dhanupali of the city, were living came to light after a former employee filed a police complaint and a video went viral on social media.

The former employee said the inmates of Samartha were subjected torture by the staff. The female inmates were bathed naked along with the male inmates by the caretakers in the presence of the organisation’s secretary Haris Chandra Dash.

The Samartha staff were also beating up the inmates for no reasons and serving stale food of three days. The inmates were also administered overdose of medicines and injections which resulted in death of some of them, the former employee who worked in the organisation for two months alleged.

Even the relatives were not allowed to take the inmates to their houses. If anybody insisted, the inmates were tortured and the relatives could hardly know about it, he added.

After the matter came to light, Rengali MLA Sudarshan Haripal conducted a surprise raid and found the allegations true. Later, police conducted a raid on the home and arrested Haris Dash.

Sambalpur district collector Siddheshwar Baliram Bondar has ordered an investigation into the matter and recommended to blacklist Samartha.