OHRC seeks report on under trial prisoner's torture

CUTTACK: Odisha Human Rights Commission(OHRC) on Saturday directed IG of Prisons to conduct an inquiry into the alleged incident of physical torture of an under trial prisoner at Choudwar circle jail in Cuttack.
The commission has directed IG of prisons to conduct inquire into the matter himself and submit a report to it within seven days.
The commission has also directed IG of Police(central range) to conduct an inquiry as how the under trial prisoner has sustained so many injuries on his body during his stay in jail.The commission has also ordered SCB medical college and hospital authorities to ensure proper treatment to the prisoner.
The OHRC’s direction came in response to a petition and fact finding report submitted by few lawyers and a social campaigner alleging that an under trial prisoner Saroj Das was brutally beaten by jail staff for a trivial issue on May 15. Das is presently undergoing treatment at SCB.
Getting information about the incident, a team of lawyers Khirod Rout, Sudhir Mohanty and Pradip Pradhan, social worker had visited SCB and met Das. The petitioners have cited that they observed multiple injuries on Das’s body and he was not even able to speak. When asked about his condition, Das revealed that his wife had given Rs 100 to a jail staff to pass on the money to him. When he asked the jail staff about the money, he beat him mercilessly following which Das had to be hospitalized.