Police station torched by mob; police officials suspended

Family sticks together. When one is in trouble the rest rush to their defense.

A police station in Sambalpur city in western Odisha was ransacked and set ablaze by irate residents on Friday following the alleged custodial death of a tribal youth.

Abinash Munda, 22, was picked up by the police on Thursday evening. According to the police, he was given a bed sheet and a blanket in the hazat (lock-up) of Aainthapali police station. Later in the evening, he was found hanging with the bed sheet.

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Abinash’s family members were informed about his death early on Friday. They rejected the police version and alleged that Abinash succumbed to injuries following “excessive torture” in police custody. Soon, the news spread to other tribal-dominated colonies of the city. Hundreds of residents gathered outside the police station and started hurling stones on the premises. They overpowered the small police party stationed there and torched the police station. Even senior police officers who reached the spot became a target of the mob’s ire. Seven police personnel were injured in the attack. At least a dozen vehicles parked on the campus were burnt down.

The State government has ordered a multilevel investigation. “The Aainthapali police of Sambalpur had arrested a person on charges of theft on Thursday evening. He was, as per the report of the police station, found hanging in one of the hazats after 10 p.m.,” said R.P. Sharma, the State’s Director General of Police.

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“The investigation into the case has been handed over to the Human Rights Protection Cell of Odisha police. Apart from this, the Inspector General of Police (northern range), Sambalpur, will conduct an independent inquiry at his level and submit a report,” Mr. Sharma said.

DGP RP Sharma suspended Ainthapali police station’s inspector-in-charge. Two other cops of the police station were also suspended for “negligence”.

Meanwhile, CM Naveen Patnaik announced an ex gratia of Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased on compassionate grounds.

The Odisha Human Rights Commission directed the State government to inquire into the circumstances under which Abinash died and submit the report within three weeks.