Orissa - People's watch

FF Code : EU/OR/KHURDA /154/2008
Victim(s) : 1) Pritam Priyadarshi Dash; 2) Bijay Kumar Dash;
3) Smt.Manorama Dash
Perpetrator(s) : Jagannath Pradhan, Officer-in-Charge,
Mancheswar PS
Location : Khairapada village
Date of incident : 24/04/2008
Background and Summary of the case:
Orissa
110
Annual Report on Torture
2008
The victim Bijay Kumar Dash (48) and his wife victim Smt. Manorama Dash (42) were residents of
Khairapada village, Khurda. They were the parents of the late victim Pritam Priyadarshi Dash. Bijay
was an ITI Director of Khairapada and Manorama was a service holder.
On 24 April 2008 at 6:39 PM, two of Pritam’s friend called Manorama to get her permission that Pritam
could visit Yatra with them. When Pritam did not return home at about 10 PM, his parents got worried
and called him and his friends. Since they could not find Pritam, they went to Mancheswar police station
to lodge an F.I.R. on 25 April 2008 at about 9:30 AM. The Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Jagannath Pradhan
refused to lodge the F.I.R. and said that Pritam would return home on his own. Bijay told the OIC that he
suspected Rama Chandra Tripathy of having kidnapped and murdered Pritam, because Bijay did not
accept Rama Chandra Tripathy’s proposal of marriage between his daughter and Pritam. The OIC
refused to listen to Bijay.
At 1.20 PM Manorama also went to the police station and inquired about her son. Again the OIC
refused to file an F.I.R about the matter.
On the next day 25 April 2008, Bijay and Manorama went to the Deputy Commissioner of Police
(DCP), who filed their F.I.R. The DCP did not take any further action to enquire about the matter and
arrest the accused.
When the news of Pritam’s disappearance and the police inaction spread in the village, the villagers
protested in front of the police station on 27 April 2008. When Assistant Commissioner of Police Suresh
Mohapatra was informed about this, he went to the police station and told the villagers that he would
arrest the accused within two hours. Thereafter, he went to Jaripatna village and arrested Rama
Chandra Tripathy. When the villagers went away, he released Rama Chandra Tripathy after detaining
him for two hours.
When Bijay got to know that Rama Chandra Tripathy was released, he informed the DCP, who then
contacted the police station. So a police officer brought Rama Chandra Tripathy and Pankaj to the
police station again. At the police station they were not inquired about Pritam’s disappearance but
offered cold drinks, pan and cigarettes and they were soon released. The accused bribed the police to
be released and avoid further investigation of the case.