‘Dead’ boy walks home; Odisha cop asked to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has ordered for payment of compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh each to two persons of Bargarh district who were ‘wrongfully’ arrested on charges of killing a boy in 2016 while he was later found alive as he returned home after two years.

The panel has recommended that the compensation amount of Rs 5 lakh be recovered from the salary of Prakash Kumar Karna, ex-IIC of Paikamal police station, who had arrested the two.

As per reports, one Jitu Dandasena of Piplipali village under Paikamal police limits in Bargarh district went missing on December 7, 2016. During the course of investigation, police arrested Halu Gurla and Raghab Naik of Bargarh town on December 24, 2016 on charges of murder and destruction of evidence. The two were later sent to jail.

However, Dandasena returned home in 2018. The two arrestees had moved the OHRC seeking justice after their release from jail.