A 35-year-old Dalit man died hours after police on Saturday arrested him in connection with a case related to a clash between two groups in Odisha’s Bargarh in July. Gobinda Kumbhar and four others were charged with rioting, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, and criminal intimidation. Hours after his arrest, Kumbhar was rushed to the Bargarh District Hospital in a critical condition before he died.
Suresh Pujari, the Member of Parliament from Bargarh, has sought an impartial probe into the Dalit man’s custodial death (Getty Images/iStockphoto)
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Kumbhar’s widow, Rubi, alleged four policemen barged into their house on September 25 around 2 am and arrested her husband. “I want justice for my husband. I want all the policemen who killed my husband to be hanged.”
Bargarh police superintendent Rahul Jain said they were awaiting Kumbhar’s post-mortem report and have ordered a magisterial inquiry into his death. “Action against the policemen will be taken after the inquiry is over,” he said.
Suresh Pujari, the Member of Parliament from Bargarh, has sought an impartial probe into the death amid calls for arrest of the policemen who picked up Kumbhar. He cited injuries Kumbhar sustained and said the policemen allegedly responsible for his death be booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
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Dalit leader Ashok Mallick said Kumbhar was beaten in custody. He added he would petition the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Human Rights Commission of India and seek ₹50 lakh compensation for Kumbhar’s family as well action again the policemen involved.
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Dalit leader Ashok Mallick said Kumbhar was beaten in custody. He added he would petition the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and National Human Rights Commission of India and seek ₹50 lakh compensation for Kumbhar’s family as well action again the policemen involved.
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Another Dalit leader Kamal Lochan Tandi said Kumbhar’s death was not an isolated incident of atrocities against Dalits in the state.
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.
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