Bhubaneswar: Tension prevailed in Baranga area near Bhubaneswar after a youth was hospitalised in a critical condition following alleged third-degree torture by the police.
The incident triggered outrage among residents of Chandiprasad village and nearby areas who staged a demonstration and a road blockade demanding exact information about the condition of the youth.
Vehicular traffic on Cuttack-Bhubaneswar road was disrupted due to the agitation and prolonged road blockade.
According to information, the wife of one Rakesh Behera of Chandiprasad went missing from their home on May 16. Rakesh had lodged a complaint in this regard with Barang police.
It was claimed that the police detained Rakesh for questioning on Thursday after the body of an unidentified woman was found on Mahanadi riverbank on May 22.
The villagers alleged that police resorted to third-degree torture after Rakesh informed them that the deceased woman was not his wife.
A team of around six police personnel took Rakesh to a nearby forest last night and assaulted him mercilessly, claimed Rakesh’s father. “My son was critically injured and he is now battling for life. The police officials are not giving us any updates on his heath condition,” he alleged.
The villagers urged the state government to launch a thorough probe into the incident and initiate stern action against the accused police personnel.
However, the police refuted the allegations of third-degree torture and claimed that the youth sustained grievous injuries after he met with an accident on Thursday night.
