Baripada: The Baripada Town Police is back in focus for alleged excesses on some protesters.
Earlier, cases of custodial death and the arrest of cops on graft charges had hit the image of town police.
Activists of Sambidhan Bancha Sangharsh Samiti had called a Bharat bandh Tuesday in Mayurbhanj district. The police had tried to foil the bandh Monday night.
Activists of the Samiti took to the streets Tuesday and 60 to 70 people were detained by the police. Nearly 60 people were detained at the Laxmiposi outpost and nine were detained at the Town Police Station.
The activists said the police had attacked nine of the protesters detained near Kacheri Chhak and also warned them to keep away from the bandh.
Of the nine, Karamjit Singh and Gurucharan Singh, were subjected to excesses. The two were seriously hurt and were taken to the PRM Medical College and Hospital in a PCR van later.
Nine others were “psychologically tortured” in custody. Later, they were forced to sign on a plain paper and were freed. The police had baton charged the protesters at Murgabadi Chhak too.
But IIC Ashok Kumar Nayak of Baripada Town Police Station denied the excesses. “A case was registered against 63 protesters and they were arrested. They were freed on bail. The protesters were armed with sticks. Some of them who were going around on a bike got frightened when they saw a police van. They fell off and got injured. Some of them were threatening people with sticks at Traffic Chhak,” the IIC said.
PNN