Bhubaneswar: Police in Cuttack district on Tuesday arrested two retired police personnel and four home guards in connection with the alleged custodial death of a man in 2016.The arrests came a day after nine policemen in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai were sentenced to death for the custodial killings of a father-son duo in 2020.“We have arrested retired assistant sub-inspector Bhagan Sahoo, retired havildar Pramod Kumar Patra, and home guards Joginath Nayak, Bhikari Nayak, Maheswar Debata, and Dharmaraj Rana. While Debata and Rana are still in service, Jogi and Bhikari were discharged from service earlier,” a senior police officer told. TOI.Police said the delay in arrests was due to the prolonged investigation and evidence collection. None of the accused had secured bail.The case dates back to Dec 9, 2016, when Saroj Senapati, also known as Akula (44), of Malisahi village, allegedly died in Narasinghpur police custody.His family alleged that officers picked him up from his home following a complaint by a woman who accused him of assault during a dispute over cattle grazing on Dec 6.According to the family, Senapati was brutally beaten and tortured at the Narasinghpur police station. He was first taken to the local community health center and later shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.Police had then denied the allegations of custodial torture. “ASI Sahoo and others raided Senapati’s house after the woman’s complaint. He violently attacked the police personnel who had gone to bring him to the station. En-route the station, he sustained serious injuries during the scuffle and was taken to hospital,” another officer stated.
