Bhanjanagar: Days after an Odia migrant worker died in Gujarat’s Surat town, his wife back home in Odisha Saturday said that brutality of Gujarat police killed her husband.
“Gujarat police killed my husband. They have made a widow and my son an orphan. I wish the guilty should be hanged till death,” said deceased Satya’s wife to Odisha parliamentary affairs minister Bikram Keshari Arukha who was visiting the bereaved family Saturday.
After interacting with the family members at their Buguda village under Bhanjanagar police station, minister Arukha said the incident of beating a man to death is highly condemnable.
“I have taken the matter up with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. All possible help will be made available to the family. I will write letters to the DG and Gujarat CM asking for an investigation and stringent action against those who are found guilty,” said Arukha.
According to the family, Satya had been working in Surat for the last couple of years. His wife and seven years old differently-abled son, meanwhile, lived in Odisha. As the family doesn’t own any arable land, it was entirely dependent on whatever money Satya used to send.
According to Satya’s nephew Sisir Bhuyan, Satya wanted to return home amid the ongoing lockdown. Even though he applied for a train ticket with the local administration there, he was not able to get one.
Satya had been in a state of depression as he could not get a train ticket whereas many others managed to get it. He and some of his roommates were standing in front of their rented house Thursday night when a police van stopped near them. Seeing the cops, all of them ran into the room. The policemen too entered and started beating up Satya mercilessly. Later, he was being rushed to a hospital but he succumbed on the way.
“We know Gujarat police will never give us justice. Our state government and police should deliver justice to us. The police there are learnt to be sending my uncle’s roommates to their respective areas in vehicles. They are doing this to tamper with evidence against them. Lakhs of Odias are staying in Surat. Today they killed my uncle. Tomorrow, there will be another one. Nobody is serious about the safety of Odias staying there,” he alleged.
Santosh, the deceased’s elder brother said, “For justice, we will take the case to the National Human Rights Commission. Minister Arukha gave assistance of Rs 50,000 and promised all possible help.”
PNN