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Odisha father-son duo, who faked abduction, traced after 4 years
The father-son duo faked abduction to evade a fine imposed by a village Kangaroo court over fishing in Chilika lake despite a ban.
BHUBANESWAR: A man and his son in Khurda district of Odisha were rescued from a village in Nayagarh district on Monday, four years after they went missing from their village in what turned out to be an abduction drama to evade a fine imposed by a village Kangaroo court, police said.
Arun Behera (57) and his son Manas (29) were spotted by a team of policemen from Tangi police station of Khurda district in Gopalpur village under Ranapur police station area of Nayagarh district on Monday, more than four years after they went missing from the village in the wake of a penalty imposed by the village committee over the duo fishing in Chilika lake despite a ban on fishing.
In 2018, the village committee of Habaradi on the bank of Chilika lake barred villagers from fishing in the lake which was flouted by Behera and his son.
Enraged over the defiance, the committee allegedly imposed a fine of ₹ 5,000 on the family. The father-son duo left the Kangaroo court on the pretext of arranging the penalty, but never returned.
Police officials said Behera’s wife Parbati then lodged a written complaint with Tangi Police Station alleging that her husband and son have been abducted and demanded inquiry. She also moved Odisha human rights commission expressing her dissatisfaction over the pace of investigation and later approached Orissa high court seeking its intervention.
“Though we always doubted the abduction of the father-son duo, there was no way we could disprove her allegations. An SP and two inspectors of Khurda have to make personal appearances before the high court to inform the court over the pace of investigation. However, over the last 10-15 days, a police team kept her under surveillance and tailed her. Our team finally found her husband and son in Nayagarh district,” said Balugaon sub-divisional police officer Manas Barik.
Barik said after preliminary probe, police found that the woman was incited by two ‘human rights activists’ who told her to approach human rights body and high court as she stood to gain financially. “The woman allegedly arranged ₹5 lakh after selling her land to pay the two activists. She has also spent huge amounts of money mortgaging her ornaments for court cases. It is really tragic,” said Barik.
Police officials said in the light of new facts, the case will be re-investigated and action would be taken against the human rights activists who incited the woman to move court. “We would also investigate if any penalty was imposed on the father-son duo,” said the SDPO.
