Odisha journalist taking sick son to hospital assaulted by cop for flouting lockdown
Subrat Kumar Swain, correspondent with Odia daily Sambad, was heading towards the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital in his car with his 4-year-old son when sub-inspector Ashutosh Mohanty stopped him and allegedly hit him with his baton.
A journalist of an Odia newspaper in mineral-rich Keonjhar district was on Wednesday allegedly beaten up by a police sub-inspector while he was taking his ailing child to a hospital.
Subrat Kumar Swain, correspondent with Odia daily Sambad, was heading towards the Keonjhar district headquarters hospital in his car with his 4-year-old son when sub-inspector Ashutosh Mohanty stopped him and allegedly hit him with his baton. Swain said he told the sub-inspector that he was going to hospital to consult a doctor as his son was feverish since the previous night.
“Although I had the necessary lockdown pass and showed my identity card, the police officer misbehaved with me and beat me,” alleged Swain. Following this, the journalists in Keonjhar surrounded the police station demanding action against the cop.
Keonjhar SP Mitrabhanu Mahapatra said he has asked the additional SP to inquire into the matter. Till the probe into the matter is over, the sub-inspector will not be deployed on road patrolling duty, he said.
