Nabarangpur: Tension ran high at Kodinga police station in Nabarangpur district Sunday after a 62-year-old reportedly died following assault by policemen.
Enraged, fellow villagers of the deceased ransacked the police station. In bid to scare away the agitators, police resorted to lathicharge them and opened fire in the air. Later, Section 144 was imposed on the area to avoid any further trouble.
Nabarangpur superintendent of police Nitin Kusalkar reached the area and took stock of the situation. The villagers were assaulted and sent off while they were trying to hold up the National Highway.
According to sources, some villagers were engaged in cock-fighting at a weekly market in Khuntiguda under Papadahandi police limits. Kosagumuda IIC Sagar along with his police team, in plain clothes, raided Khutiguda market following information about the cockfight which is illegal.
Police arrested Gobardhan Bindhani, 60, of Panjiariguda village and Kamulu Harijan, 48, of Pangalaguda village and seized seven motorbikes, 17 roosters and some cash from them.
Kamulu allegedly complained of dizziness at the police station and asked for water. However, the cops instead of providing water reportedly punched him a couple of times, alleged the locals. The two were kept in separate cells and assaulted following which Gobardhan died in the police station while the condition of Kamulu remained critical after which he was admitted to the local hospital.
As his condition deteriorated, Kamulu has been shifted to Nabarangpur DHH while cops picked up Gobardhan’s wife Neela, daughter Damuni and brother-in-law Mangal from their house late Saturday night after Gobardhan’s death. Since then, there has been no trace of the family members.
Initially, the cops tried to suppress the matter by claiming that Gobardhan had been shifted to a hospital at Vishakhapatnam. Later, it was confirmed that Gobardhan had died inside the police station, but the cops are yet to hand over the body to the relatives.
“The cops thrashed both of us. They did not spare us even when we sought some water to drink. Later Gobardhan collapsed. The cops took both of us to hospital separately so that I could not know what happened to Gobardhan,” said Kumulu.
Locals alleged the cops were trying to influence Gobardhan’s family members and suppress the truth. They demanded a thorough probe and stringent action against the erring cops.