Bhubaneswar, Sep 13 (IANS) The Orissa High Court has ordered the state government to recover Rs.300,000 from policemen for the death of a youth in their custody four years ago.
A division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice I. Mohanty passed the order Wednesday in response to a writ petition filed by human rights activist and lawyer Prabir Kumar Das on the death of Narayan Behera in a police beat house near Talcher town in Angul district on Dec 31, 2003.
Narayan, a resident of Badajorada village in the district, was picked up by policemen from his home in connection with a murder and lodged at the beat house. Narayan was later found dead. His family members alleged that he died of police torture, Das told IANS.
Das had met Narayan’s family members and had filed a petition in the court seeking a proper enquiry and compensation to the family. He alleged that Narayan had died in custody due to severe physical and mental torture by policemen.
A probe by a lower court had earlier found the death to be a case of suicide. However, it described the detention as illegal.
The high court has ordered the state government to recover the compensation amount from the policemen and deposit it with the registrar of the court by way of a cheque on or before Oct 8, Das said.