Odisha DGP suspends inspector over immolation of 55-yr-old outside police station

Odisha director general of police Sunil Bansal suspended Sasmita Rana, inspector of Kishannagar police station, four days after Gunanidhi Bisoi succumbed to injuries that he suffered after immolating himself protesting against police inaction

Published on: Jun 28, 2022, 14:08:52 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Odisha police on Tuesday suspended a police inspector on charges of dereliction of duty, four days after a 55-year-old man, who had immolated himself outside the police station, succumbed to his burn injuries.

Odisha DGP suspends inspector over immolation of 55-yr-old outside police station

The man had been protesting police inaction over a case of assault.

Odisha director general of police Sunil Bansal suspended Sasmita Rana, inspector of Kishannagar police station, four days after Gunanidhi Bisoi of Sainporuan village in Cuttack district succumbed to injuries that he suffered after immolating himself protesting against police inaction over his nephew assaulting him.

On Thursday at about 11.30 am, Bisoi poured petrol over his body and set himself on fire before the main gate of the Kishannagar police station. However, before he could be rescued and admitted in a hospital, he suffered major burn injuries. Bisoi died on Friday, a day after he immolated himself.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the case, the Odisha Human Rights Commission sought a report from the DGP asking him to submit a report before the next hearing on July 25.

In his report, Cuttack superintendent of police B Jugal Kishore said that on June 19, Bisoi had gone to Kishannagar police station to lodge a complaint against his nephew and others alleging that they had assaulted him over some property dispute resulting in a head injury. Though Bisoi suffered a severe head injury, the inspector did not pay any attention to his complaint.

A counter FIR was also lodged on the same day against Bisoi by his nephew Sagar Bisoi. Sagar Bisoi was later arrested.

Though offences in both the cases were cognizable, the inspector neither paid any attention not enquired into the matter personally or asked any officer of her police station to probe it.

Last month, a 28-year-old man of Ganjam district, had also immolated himself near the office of the SP over his failure in getting a patient hearing from the police. Badal Sahu of Borigaon village in Ganjam died a day after he immolated himself. He was protesting against his family being ostracised in their village over some dispute for more than eight years.

Sahu had approached the local police several times but did not get any response. He then went to the SP’s office, but as the SP was not available and the other police personnel did not pay any attention to his complaint, he immolated himself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
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.Read More

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.