BJP protest over two custodial deaths in Odisha

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday staged a protest here against the two alleged custodial deaths reported in Puri and Biramitrapur area of Sundergarh district.

Leader of Opposition Pradipta Nayak and BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra visited the house of the victim in Puri and demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for the family of the deceased and to register a murder case against the police who were in charge of those police stations.

The deaths sparked tensions in Puri prompting police to deploy additional force.

"The incidents of death of inmates in custody is tragic. Earlier there were attempts to kill inmates. They think they are above law and order and don't follow the court's order," BJP MLA Jayanta Kumar Das said.

In Puri, tension prevailed at the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) here on Thursday after locals had a face-off with police personnel deployed at the hospital following the death of an accused- K Ramesh, a resident of Loknath road area in the custody of Baselisahi police station on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Puri Superintendent of Police (SP) Akhileswar Singh said that 32-year-old K Arya was arrested by Baselisahi police for interrogation.

"The accused got into a scuffle with the cops during the arrest and he sustained injuries. The accused was later admitted to the DHH for treatment. However, he died while undergoing treatment," he said.

However, family members of the deceased and local BJP leaders have refuted the police statement alleging that Ramesh died in the custody.

In another incident, Tarique Salim allegedly died on Wednesday night while he was under the custody of Birmitrapur police station in Sundargarh district.

Reacting to both alleged custodial deaths, Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Abhay assured that action will be taken as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) once the post-mortem reports come in.

(ANI)

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