Odisha police arrest prime accused in Bheden custodial death

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 2:

Odisha police arrested the prime accused in the Makhun Bag custodial death case from Bargarh in the wee hours today.

The then officer-in-charge (OIC) of Bheden police station– Sushil Nayak– was arrested in the early hours today by the Ulunda police who had laid a trap in Bargarh since last night.

With the arrest of Sushil, the number of arrested persons in connection with the case has risen to five.

Of the seven accused, sub-inspector (SI) Soumyaranjan Patra, assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Pitamber Behera, Home Guard driver Pramod Sahu and Home Guard Prakash Dehury—all posted at Bheden police station have been arrested. Two others are still at large.

It may be mentioned that the OIC of Bheden police station had summoned Makhun on July 17 this year for interrogation in a rape case registered against his second son.

Maknu hailing from Dekulba village did not return home for several days following which his family members launched a frantic search.

After almost two months, a skeleton was found at a forested area in Sonepur district on September 24. Following this, Makhun’s son– Biju Bag– lodged a complaint with Ulunda police station alleging that his father had been murdered by Bheden police and his body had been dumped in the Metakani forest in Sonepur district. The DNA tests confirmed the body of Makhun.

Notably, Bargarh SP Ashish Kumar Singh had suspended four policemen of Bheden police station OIC Sushil Nayak, SI Soumyaranjan Patra, ASI Pitamber Behera and Constable Gita Bhoi for their alleged complicity in the case. Besides, the top cop wrote to the district judge to conduct a judicial inquiry into the matter.

Yesterday, Ulunda police handed over the sekeleton of the deceased to Biju Bag, son of Makhun Bag. The family members performed the last rites later in the day yesterday.