A youth, detained at Jagannath Prasada police station in Ganjam district for interrogation died at the local hospital today triggering protests.
Ganjam SP Narsingh Bhol said Gourahari Swain (35) was picked up early today in connection with a burglary incident, four days ago, for interrogation at the Jagannath Prasad police station, 70 km from here.
As he complained of pain in stomach, Swain was taken to the local hospital and died during treatment, Bhol said adding there was no foul play in the incident.
The exact cause of the death would be known only after the post-mortem, he said.
However, "Since he died in police custody, we will perform all inquiries as per the guidelines of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in a transparent manner", he added.
The relatives of the deceased, however, alleged that Swain died due to physical torture by the police.
"As per the FIR lodged by the family members, we have registered a case against the police personnel," the SP said.
Following the death, the villagers of Patadhara blocked traffic on Bhanjanagra-Bhubaneswar road and demanded action against the cops of Jagannath Prasad police station.
They did not allow the police to take the body for post-mortem at sub divisional hospital at Bhanjangara for several hours.
Senior police officers along with forces went to the spot as tension ran high.
While district administration paid Rs 20,000 as compensation from the district Red Cross fund, other demands like the family pension would be met after paper works, district officials said.
