Undertrial prisoner forced to walk in handcuffs in Odisha

Phulbani: In a shocking incident of breaching the Supreme Court’s directive, an undertrial prisoner was made to walk to court with handcuffs in broad daylight on a busy road in Odisha here on Tuesday.

The incident sparked strong reactions from intellectuals for the act of authorities that violates the human rights.

The undertrial prisoner was identified as Chitrasen Mallick (30) of Tidingpanga under Baliguda police limits. He was forced to walk to Baliguda court in handcuffs on a busy road yesterday.

According to reports, Chitrasen was arrested by the excise police on charges of illegal liquor trade in October 2016. Since then, he has been lodged in Phulbani jail as the undertrial prisoner.

On Tuesday, Chitrasen was to be deposed before Baliguda court for a hearing. Instead of taking him in a van, he was forced to walk in handcuffs at around 10 am on a busy road guarded by four police constables from Phulbani jail here to the bus stand from where he was taken to Baliguda in a bus.

Even as the Supreme Court has ruled that the authorities cannot handcuff undertrial prisoners while being taken to the courts or brought to the jail, the passersby were surprised to witness the scene.

We had made arrangement for a van to take the undertrial prisoner to the Baliguda court, said Reserve Inspector Dharmendra Pradhan in his clarification about the incident.

However, action will be taken against the staff after probing the matter, said SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra.