Cuttack: In a significant development in a custodial death case dating back to 2016, six retired police personnel were arrested and remanded to judicial custody in Odisha’s Cuttack district.
The case pertains to the death of Saroj Senapati of Malisahi village under Narasinghpur police limits. According to case records, Senapati had been brought to the Narasinghpur Police Station by his wife, Alka Nayak, following a domestic dispute. During interrogation, he was allegedly subjected to severe torture by police personnel, leading to his death in custody.
A case (No. 130/16) was subsequently registered at Narasinghpur Police Station under multiple sections of the IPC, including 448 (house trespass), 342 (wrongful confinement), 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation), 302 (murder), and 34 (common intention).
The National Human Rights Commission had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and directed that the investigation be handled by then police officer Niranjan Sabar.
Those arrested include retired Assistant Sub-Inspector Bhagaban Sahu, retired Havildar Pramod Kumar Patra, and four Home Guards—Joginath Nayak, Bhikari Nayak, Bhramar Rana, and Maheshwar Debata.
All six accused were produced before the Narasinghpur court on Tuesday evening. Following rejection of their bail pleas, the court remanded them to judicial custody.
