NHRC seeks ATR in Kabisurya Nagar alleged custodial torture case

Berhampur: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday sought an action taken report (ATR) on the alleged custodial death of a 32-year-old man in Kabisurya Nagar police station in Ganjam district from the district administration. The NHRC has directed the district magistrate and SP (Ganjam) to submit the report within three weeks of the receipt of the letter.In the report, all aspects, including the time, place and reason for the arrest or detention, FIR registered against the deceased, arrest and inspection, seizure memos, medical certificate of the deceased, need to be furnished. The commission has also sought the medico-legal certificate, post-mortem report of the deceased, its video, site plan of the incident, chemical and histopathology examination of viscera (if applicable), final cause of death, magistrate enquiry report, etc, of the incident.The commission has also directed them to explain why this custodial death was not reported to the commission within 24 hours. The commission has directed the district administration to furnish all details relating to the incident along with some other documents. The commission has taken cognisance of a petition filed before him by Manoj Jena, a rights activist of Khurda.Sushant Sahu, 32, of Subalia under Kabisurya Nagar police station limits died due to the alleged police torture on Sunday night. His family members alleged that he was picked up from the house on May 25 and succumbed to his injuries late on Sunday night. He was brutally assaulted in police custody, said his wife.The exact cause of the death would be ascertained only after getting the autopsy report, said Niti Sekhar, inspector general of police, southern range, here. “We are waiting for the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of his death. In a swift action, he suspended three police personnel, including SI, ASI, constable, while an IPS officer, who was undergoing training as a trainee officer in the police station, withdrew from the police station.Superintendent of MKCG medical college and hospital Sudeepa Das said the post-mortem of the deceased was conducted by a three-member doctor team in the presence of the executive magistrate. As per the NHRC guidelines, the entire process was video-graphed. The viscera of the deceased was sent to the State Forensics Science Laboratory for a test, she said. “We will ascertain the exact cause of the death only after getting pathological and visceral test reports,” she said. It may take about a week to submit the final report, she added.