Bhubaneswar: Police in Odisha’s Cuttack district have arrested two retired police personnel, two retired home guards and two serving home guards, nearly a decade after an alleged custodial death of 44-year-old man Saroj Senapati alias Akula.
The police has initially denied the allegations of death. (iStock)
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Those arrested have been identified as retired assistant sub-inspector Bhagaban Sahoo, retired havildar Pramod Kumar Patra, retired home guards Joginath Nayak and Bhikari Nayak and serving home guards Maheswar Debata, and Dharmaraj Rana.
The case dates back to December 9, 2016, when Akula was detained at Narasinghpur police station following a complaint filed by his neighbour, who accused him of assault during a dispute over cattle grazing. He was allegedly subjected to torture, including brutal beatings during the interrogation. The police had initially denied the allegations of death, claiming that Akula died in a scuffle with cops in while in detention.
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A case was registered under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including house-trespass, wrongful confinement, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, murder, and common intention).
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A case was registered under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including house-trespass, wrongful confinement, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, murder, and common intention).
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The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took suo motu cognisance of the matter and launched its probe, while the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) also sought reports from the Cuttack superintendent of police regarding the custodial death. Police officials said the delay in arrest was over collection of evidence.
Between 2014 and 2024, there were 48 cases of custodial deaths in Odisha, as per government records.
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.
